As The Pendulum Swings
by Salazar Marvolo
Summary: After the destruction of Karakura City Ichigo is given the chance to change it all. Watch him as he grows into the man he has to be far earlier than most. The lines between hatred and love, Enemies and Friends, blur and blend the more time he spends in Seireitei. Set in the 'Turn Back the Pendulum' chapters of Bleach. Rated T for language. slight OOC Ichigo
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've been playing with this idea for a while now but finally managed to sit down and actually write it. This will be a long Story, potentially very long. Anyways I hope you enjoy what I've written. Please R &R, helps me to know what you enjoyed and honestly alos keeps me motivated. **

_'Thoughts.'_

"Speech!"

 **"Soul King Speech."**

 **Disclaimer: I own Nothing.**

 **Now, without further ado: Enjoy!**

* * *

Ichigo looked on as the man that he once feared heaved and coughed, fighting against the inevitable as the Hogyoku in his chest strated to poison him ever so slowly from the inside out. His gaze wandered to his green clad mentor – and dare he say – friend, his usual green striped hat was missing as he watched on with sorrowful grey eyes as Aizen Sousuke raved and raged against the Kido Seal that was slowly covering his body.

The Hogyoku in the middle of his breast gleamed, a trail of blood traveled down the expanse of Aizens neck dripping down upon the object that had been the cause to all their misery. Student and teacher stood and watched as Aizen screamed at them, his formerly brown eyes having turned a disturbing purple color; the eye that had split open his forehead was swirling around wildly, blind and out of focus as the 'master of the Hogyoku' lost all control of his powers. Kisuke only raised his hand, blocking the strong winds that were being emitted from the power struggle between Kido and Hogyoku, between will and man.

Ichigo didn't do anything, watching on as Aizen – his enemy, slowly lost himself to the seal taking over his body.

And just like that, with the same suddenness it had started, everything was over. Were Sousuke Aizen, former Captain of Division 5 once stood now sat a cross-like rod, it was white and brittle, yet not a single sliver of Reiatsu was being emitted by the Seal. With a small 'ping' the orb that had sat in Aizens chest and poisoned his mind fell to the ground, small cracks build along it's sides. A purple glow started surrounding the small marbel, the Hogyoku shudderened and trembled small pieces of debird rose into the air defying gravity and the earth shook.

Ichigo didn't even have the time to turn his head as Kisuke gasped before the world was being painted in a glowing white light before going completely black in the next instance.

.

.

.

His body felt heavy, bricks were weighing down his chest as he struggled to suck in air, his ears were whistling, his arms, legs and head were straining. Everything was too much. Breathing hurt. Moving hurt. He couldn't open his eyes. It was like they were glued shut, only darkness was surrounding him. Darkness and the impending sense that something had gone very, very wrong.

He wasn't sure what exactly it had been, but something – something must have gone wrong. With growing dread Ichigo remembered the startled gasp that had come from Kisuke, the purple and then white light thee Hogyoku had emitted before everything had just…ceased…Before everything had become dark.

Kisuke, Yoruichi, Byakuya, Rukia, Renji, Ishida, Chad, Orihime, Toshiro, his father, Yuzu, Karin…

Their faces flashed in front of his as he gritted his teeth. He had to move. Had to see what was going on. Had to check that they were okay.

That they were alive and uninjured. If. Only. He. Could. Move.

A loud groan left his lips, followed by several hard gasps as he tried to lift his arms. They were trembling, he could feel it, could feel the heavy shakes that seemed to rattle even his shoulders and torso as he fought against some invisible force, pushed back against a brick wall. With more trouble than he would have liked he lifted a trembling hand to his face, touching it to his eyes and rubbing.

They were still there, he should be able to see. With a few more shaking breaths he pried his eyes open, the struggle almost as bad as when he had lifted his arms. He winced as light pierced his pupils, seeming to stab trough his eyes right into his brain. Another groan left him. Lifting his trembling hand, he shielded his eyes from the light.

He slowly pushed his body forward, each inch another victory as his entire body seemed to tremble and shake with the extortion. He slowly blinked his eyes open and look downwards. To his surprise he was sitting in water, it was cascading his body from his chest down. He slowly turned his head, which had seemingly rested on a rolled-up towel, that was sitting on the rocky ground around him. Not just water no – hot water – a hot spring. Uraharas hot spring?

He looked around frantically, wincing as his neck cracked loudly at the movement, still he continued to look for the familiar green striped hat and atrocious clothing, he even cleaned out his ears in hopes of hearing the familiar clanking sound they made on the ground. Still nothing. He took stock of his surroundings.

It looked nothing like Uraharas underground training area. The ground seemed just as rocky and dusty but that was as far as the similarities went. There seemed to be a pair of overly large windows looking out into the sky. The room he was in had many doors and he had no doubt that he would have an easy way getting lost in this place if behind every door leading from this room another room with similar amounts of doors was waiting for him.

Not knowing what to do he slowly reached for the towel his head had rested on and stepped out of the water. Drying himself of as he went. He pushed down the sudden embarrassment he felt as all he could cover himself with was the small white towel. The room around his did not provide with anything else to wear.

Confused and slightly exasperated and with a still tired body he walked towards one of the doors leading from the room. With sure steps he chose the door on the far right, deciding to check the adjoining rooms one after another if he found nothing inside them. He gently pushed down the door handle and pulled at the door, it didn't bulge. Just to be sure he pushed against it. Still nothing. With a sigh he continued to check every single door one after another. He found all of them locked. Now feeling some sense of panic rising in his chest he looked around.

 _'Zangetsu!'_ He realized belatedly, knowing how futile it was to search for his Zanpakuto in this room that held nothing but the hot spring and locked doors. He ran a hand through his hair and over his face. His mind raced from one end to the other. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, to make out the consciousness within his own, the brush of his sword at the edges of what he knew was his own mind.

He found nothing. No calls for his name, no reassuring whispers, no sudden surges of feelings of support and love and pride that only his Zanpakuto could provide. He swallowed against the lump forming in his throat, he had thought that it would take longer for his Zanpakuto to vanish once and for all. It seemed like he had been wrong.

He directed his gaze skyward but saw nothing but the ceiling with an array of low hanging lamps strewn across. He shook his head and walked toward the windows. He had ignored them so far, finding it by far more pressing to figure out who had saved or captured or kidnapped him than where exactly he was.

A mistake maybe, but he had never been known as the most patient person. He stood staring out of the window in disbelieve. The sky. He was in the middle of the sky, or at least that it what it seemed like. The ground was so far beneath the building he was in that houses and trees were nothing more than specs of dust on a lens. He took a shuddering breath.

He was in the sky. In a room. Someone had placed him in a healing Onsen, similar to the one Urahara owned. He doubted that he was with the blond shop keeper. As much as Urahara enjoyed one upping him and jumping surprises on him he somehow knew that the blond had nothing to do with this. Squinting Ichigo stared hard at the ground, trying to make out any familiar shaped. There seemed to be a larger 'blob', or patch of brown earth in the middle of a circle of tiny houses.

 _'The Sougyoku.'_ Ichigo recognized. Of course, he was in the Soul Society. And from what it looked like, miles above the Seireitei. He slowly reached out pressing a hand against the 'glass' in from of him.

Only it wasn't. Whatever was shielding them from the harsh outside winds and weather it seemed more similar to one of Hachis barriers than it did to actual glass, it wasn't smooth, it's wasn't rough either. It just was. A barrier, a wall, something that was most likely very hard to break. And even if he did he doubted that it would be a good idea to jump from this height. Even as a Shinigami his body would accelerate too much, he would be dead upon arrival on the ground. Given that he even managed to breach the strange barrier.

With another sigh Ichigo stepped away, leaving the barrier alone. He took a seat at the edge of the water. His body was still protesting every single one of his movements. His head felt heavy and he could feel the beginnings of a migraine forming in his temples. Running another hand over his face he started massaging his temples with small circular motions and breathing in and out evenly. After a while his headache subsided. He shook his head.

There was nothing he could do at the moment. With that thought in mind he let go of the towel and slid back into the Onsen. No need to run around with an aching body if the cure was there, was effective and had already been used on him before. He forced his body to relax. Whoever had taken in, seemed uninterested in seeing him die. At the moment. If they were stupid enough to heal him before attacking he was not going to stop them. Still clothes would have been appreciated.

He had no idea how long he spent floating in the hot spring, he could feel the pain slowly ebb away, his skin knitting together were a few scrapes were still left. His breathing came in even intervals, from the outside he looked like the picture of tranquility. In truth he was trying to concentrate on even the smallest wisps of a Reiatsu signature, familiar or unfamiliar to him. He felt nothing. Frustrated he had taken to simply concentrate on his surroundings, filtering the noises and smells and vibrations in the air.

He was glad he did as he noticed a slight change in the room after a few seconds. He sat up and stared at one of the doors, he was sure he had heard steps coming from that direction. Sitting up farther he stepped out of the Onsen, wrapping the towel around his hips as he went. He continued to stare at the door. Willing it to open, to reveal his…captors? Saviors? It didn't matter. He had questions. A mountain of questions. Anyone that could answer them even remotely was welcomed to him at the moment. And truly the door opened slowly.

The first thing Ichigo saw was hair, black hair that was made up to stand in front of the persons head, like a bad imitation of Elvis Presley. He was hard pressed not to laugh, forcing it back down his throat as he stared at the man that had made his entrance seconds ago.

"Who…are you?" Ichigo finally asked. The man in front of him looked to be in his fourties and was wearing some white open shirt and black trousers that looked similar to the trousers of a Shinigami uniform. A long wooden straw was dangling from his mouth. He looked up at Ichigo. Twirling the straw between his fingers before he answered.

"The name is Tenjiro Kirinji. Welcome, Kurosaki. To the Soul Kings Palace." He said, a sneer adorning his face as he rolled his eyes at Ichigo in mockery.

"Soul Kings Palace?" Ichigo whispered, confusion clear in his voice as he stared at the man. "Why…How did I end up here?" He asked, bewilderment obvious.

"Hahh?!" The man – Kirinji – answered. "How you got here? How do ya think ya did, huh? Soul King pulled ya out of there for some reason. Really don't know why, all the rest blew up." He said.

"…blew up? Fake Karakura?" Ichigo whispered, growing paler by the minute. "What about the Shinigami there, the Humans and Hollows?" He asked, his desperation bubbling up, echoing in his voice.

Something akin to pity reflected in the mans eyes as the settled back onto him.

"Sorry kid, you're the only one that made it out…Well that was pulled out anyway…You would have blown up to…Almost died if we hadn't put you in my hot spring as quickly." He said.

Ichigo swallowed. Dead. Everybody was dead. He was the only one left.

His sisters, his father, the Visored, Urahara, Yoruichi, Rukia, Byakuya, Renji, Chad, Orihime, Ishida, his classmates, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Yumichika, the kids at the Shoten, Tessai…everybody dead.

"But why…? What…happened?" He whispered, looking at the man that seemed to hold all the answers to his questions.

"I don't know kid…Seems to have been some bad reaction of that Hogyoku thingy…We are the Royal Guard, normally we couldn't care less about what's going on down below…but had we known it would end like this we would have done something…" He said. Ichigo nodded. There was white noise in his head, vibrating through his entire being.

Everybody.

Dead.

Survivor.

Alone.

Dead.

And he wished his legs didn't tremble and he wished he could be stronger than he was, strong enough not to break down in front of a stranger. But his legs gave out, still straining from his fight with Aizen, buckling under the weight of the knowledge that he was alone in this world. That he had nobody left. That they were all gone.

Forever.

His knees met the hard ground, he could feel the small rocks boring into his skin, breaking it and drawing blood yet he couldn't bring himself to care. Couldn't bring himself to feel the physical pain he was in as waves upon waves of grieve and despair washed over his head. He didn't know when he had started to cry he only knew that he had, by the salty taste that was tanging his tongue at the feeling of water on his cheeks. Not a sound left him, not a single sound. As he kneeled on this dirty, rocky ground and cried silent tears in front of a man he had never seen before.

Kinjiro was staring at the boy in front of him. 15 years old. He had gathered that much from the annoying chatting his fellow Royal Guard members had indulged in. 15 years old, the only hybrid being between a Shinigami and a Quincy that has been infected by a Hollow. A powerful boy, with exceptional growth.

A boy that had been ignorant to his heritage not a few months ago and had still stood in a war that had cost the life of many of those that were decades, centuries older than him.

Yes, he was strong. Yes, he was powerful. Yes, he had defeated a huge threat to the Seireitei…and yet he was still a boy.

Kinjiro walked towards him, kneeling in front of the orange haired kid. He gently reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him forward into a hug while his other hand stroked over his hair. Reassuring, gentle, understanding. He couldn't remember the last time he had shown this amount of care to anybody…if ever.

"It's okay." He said.

Knowing full well that it wasn't but trying his best to calm down the boy in front of him. He trembled slightly in his arms and Kinjiro noticed that he still wore nothing more than the towel they had placed his head on when they first brought him in.

Senjumaru wanted to sow him something when he woke up, she had blatantly refused to make any clothes for the boy before speaking to him. The trembling stopped, just as suddenly as his break down had come it had subsided. He let go of the orangettes shoulders, his other hand still buried in his surprisingly soft hair.

"You okay?" He asked, knowing the answer he got would be a lie.

"Fine." Lie.

"Good, there are a few people you need to meet. First thing first…Clothes. Senjumaru will probably make you something. Well if you're healed enough to go."

"I am." Ichigo answered. Already making to stand up as Kinjiro did too.

Without any warning Kinjiro pulled his fist back and aimed it at the teenager's face, Ichigos eyes widened slightly before he dodged the fist narrowly and glared at the man that was standing slightly taller than him.

"What the hell?!" He yelled.

"Well, looks like you're healed enough. Come on."

Ichigo stared after him in bewilderment, having expected another attack. The suddenness of it all had reminded him of Isshins surprise attacks, in retrospect they had been his fathers deranged sense of training for his son. And eventhough no amount of surprise attacks would ever live up to ture practice with a sword he was still thankful for what Isshin had done, even if it had been a pain most of the times and a sign that his father truly was crazy all the others.

Ichigo followed Kinjiro closely, looking around the rooms they were passing, almost all of them seemed to have some sort of hot spring inside. He chose not to ask, having embarrassed himself in front of the man once already he had no desire to do so again in the near future. They stopped in front of what Ichigo could only describe as a…catapult. He looked at Kinjiro with confusion, his usual scowl already harrowing his face as he looked at the man.

"Well, climb on in." Kinjiro said. Crossing his arms over his chest and staring back at Ichigo unimpressed.

"Climb…in?" Ichigo responded. "Why? What?"

Rolling his eyes Kinjiro grabbed Ichigos shoulder and pushed him onto the catapult.

"Hold on tight!" He yelled, a grin stretching across his face as he held his wooden straw with his teeth and pulled back the handle of the catapult.

"W-Wait a second? What do you mean hold oooonnnnn-?" Before he could finish his question, he was already being catapulted across the sky. He saw the houses and trees down below, tiny ants to him as he sailed to the sky across to another plateau as it seemed. He was gripping the towel to his body with one hand the other trying to find some semblance of balance.

"UUUuuuaahhhhhhhhhhhhh-Omppf…" He landed, in a net. He held on for dear life with one hand the other occupied with keeping his modesty covered. Slowly he climbed down the net, staring at the ground with something akin to revelance. His knees were shaking slightly.

"Never again…that fucker…" He mumbled.

"Ahh, so you are finally here." A female voice pulled him out of his mutterings. He stood up straighter, pulling the towel a little closer as he looked into the direction the voice had come from.

"Uhm, hello?" Ichigo asked, looking at the black-haired woman in front of him. She was wearing a beautifully made Kimono, her hair was made up and a crown was adorning the back of her head, giving of the feeling of a halo. She looked unnaturally beautiful.

"Hello, Kurosaki Ichigo. I see that you have finally healed. I will provide you with some clothes. But, I fear you will be incapable of wearing them until you have finished your training. Alas – "A golden arm, that seemed to grow out of her back threw something at Ichigo. "You will have to do with this until I have something else made for you. Carry on to Ichibe for now. Oetsu after that I believe. Come back to me at the very end…only then will I be able to provide you with clothes of some use." And with that see walked away, her feet were almost silent on the wooden floor.

"Uhm, thank you!" He called after, her staring at the standard Shinigami outfit in his hands. "O-one moment! How do I get to – uhh Ichibe?" He called after her.

Instead of answering one of the golden arms that was prodding from her back pointed at a long bridge that seemed to connect this…plateau to the next.

"Thank you." He called after her again, she made no responded but vanished around the corner. Ichigo sighed, he quickly got changed and decided to leave the Shihakusho hanging open at the front, the cut was a little different from his own, he felt slightly restricted in the clothes.

He drew himself back up staring at the bridge that was hanging over the deepest fall Ichigo could imagine.

Not one to pull away from a challenge he took hold of both ropes that were meant as handles and made his way across, he had to stop and take a breath several times, the wind was blowing heavily, making the bridge swing from one side to the other and giving Ichigos heart a stutter every single time. He finally made it across.

"I just said…never again….and now this…" He mumbled, staring back from where he had come from.

"Ahh! You're here! Splendid!" Ichigo turned. A huge, bald man with a black beard was staring back at him. His brown eyes seemed to pierce Ichigo to the core and he could help but stand up straighter under the scrutiny of those eyes.

"My name is Ichibe Hyosube, it is a pleasure to meet you." He said, his smile was stretching from one cheek to the other. Unsettling was how Ichigo would have described the man.

"I will be your trainer for the next few days…Or hmm let's say first you have to manage to continue standing upright…If you do, then you will be ready for your training." Ichibe said, his smile never leaving his face.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I manage to stay up-?" He didn't get any farther before an enormous spiritual pressure forced him to the ground, the breath was knocked out of his lungs, tears were gathering at the edges of his eyes, sweat pouring down his forehead as he forced his head up to glare at Ichibe.

"Hahaha! Yes, that's the spirit. Well if you do manage to get up, come to me!" And with that the man walked away.

Ichigo cursed in every language known to him. His legs shook with the force he was putting into them, his biceps were straining as he forced his body upright. He was still seated on the floor, arms on the left and right side of his outstretched to balance himself and keep him from falling.

The pressure was forcing him down, making every breath in his lungs stutter, his throat constricted, forcing knifes into his chest, still he continued to fight against it. Finally, he stood, he was hutching over trying to forced his body up and to stand straight Ichigo gritted his teeth, and pushed. And then he stood. He lifted his foot. It was like somebody had poured cement over his entire body, like he was trying to walk under water only the water weighted as much as a house. He did not know how long it took him to follow Ichibe. Each step took more strength, more power. His muscles were straining and yet he kept on pushing back.

"Ahh! You made it! Not bad, there have been quite a few that took considerably longer than you did." Ichibe said. He was seated in front of him, his unsettling smile still on his face.

"Why…why do you train me? What is the reason for all of this?" Ichigo forced out, his throat was burning, chest heaving with the power it had taken him to move his tongue.

"I'm afraid I do not know. We have only been told to heal you, train you as much as we can and then bring you to the Soul King." Ichibe responded, shrugging his enormous shoulders as he looked at Ichigo, his head tilted to the side.

"He seems to have taken a liking to you…or well rather an interest. As for your training. It is very simple. I am guessing that you do know your Katas?" Ichibe asked. Ichigo nodded, already dreading what was to come.

"Go through them. When you are done, continue with the wooden sword over there. Repeat that 100 times. And if you managed that, my part of the training is fulfilled." Ichibe said. "I will be leaving you to it. Best of luck!" He called over his shoulder before he vanished inside of the building behind him.

If Ichigo had had the strength he would have sighed. As it was he did what he was told. He was sure it had taken him days, hours at the least that he spend standing there going through his Katas, and yet it seemed to get easier and easier. He would have questioned himself once, why he was doing all of this, why he was even putting in the effort if he didn't know what it was for yet. But not anymore.

Right now, he enjoyed the burning and screaming of his muscles, loved the way his feet swayed with exhaustion because it kept him from thinking. There was only the next movement, the next step in his head, the reassuring sound of his own heart racing in his head and throat, nothing else.

No deaths. Not his little sisters as they came into his room and asked him to help them with their homework. Not his father's antics. Not Rukias drawing and Renjis yelling. Not Uraharas fan and Yoruichis boisterous laughs. Not Chads comforting strength and Uryuus open disdain.

Nothing. And he welcomed it.

The sword clattered to the ground, the sun was setting, it's last warm rays falling upon Ichigos form as he stood there, sweating from head to toe but standing upright easily.

"Well done!" A voice to his right called, he turned only to see Ichibe walking towards him a broad smile on his face.

Ichigo met him halfway.

"That's it?" He asked, looking up at the man.

"Yes, you have passed. I imagine Hikifune-san is already waiting for you. This way, this way." He beckoned him over and showed him another bridge, this one not hanging luckily but made of solid stone. Ichigo turned towards him and nodded at Ichibe once.

"Thank you." He said over his shoulder and left the place he had spent more time in than he would have liked. Ichibe watched him go, his scrutinizing brown eyes following every one of Ichigos steps.

 _'Incredible…he is the fastest student I ever had…I think I know why you are so interested in him.'_ Ichibe thought as his eyes settled upon the building that held the Soul Kings rooms. _'He is quite…interesting.'_ Humming to himself Ichibe turned and vanished back into his rooms.

Ichigo carried on walking, for once enjoying the travel from one plateau to another. The breeze seemed less strong than it was before, and the sun was setting beautifully. A small smile graced his lips as he landed on the next plateau looking around at the building in front of him.

"Heelloohooo!" A welcoming voice called. Making her way out of the house was a very corpulent woman with light brown eyes and swirls on each cheek. She exhibited a motherly aura as she made her way towards Ichigo and pulled him into a suffocating hug.

"I've been waiting for you dearie! My name is Kirio Hikifune, a pleasure darling. Come on in, come on in! Dinner is almost ready." Ichigo watched her in disbelieve as she chatted at him happily and bounded back inside with energy that could have paralleled Nels.

Cautiously he stepped inside, stopping short as he saw the long table in front of him.

"Sit down and eat! I can't even imagine how hungry you must be, Ichibe's training always makes you feel like there is a black hole in your tummy don't you agree?" He heard her voice calling from another room, the clatter of pots and pans accompanying the sound of her voice.

He sat down in one of the seat. It was true, he was quite hungry, but he had pushed it aside in the wake of his training, putting all of his focus onto his next step and not letting a single thought stray away from his task. But now, as he sat, incredible amounts of mouthwatering food in front of him, he couldn't ignore the loud rumbling of his stomach. Hikifuen reappeared in the door, setting down another dish with a bright smile.

"Eat, already!" She told him, making a shooing motion with her hand. "Can't have your stomach rumble like that while you're in my home." She said and laughed before vanishing back into what he assumed was the kitchen.

A disbelieving smile still lingering on his lips Ichigo put some mashed potatoes and beans on his plate, accompanied by a slice of meat. He put the first bit into his mouth and his eyes widened. It was the best food he had ever tasted. Nothing like what mashed potatoes, with beans and meat should ever taste like in the real world but still the best he ever had. And once he started he happily continued to eat.

He didn't think he had ever eaten quite as much in his entire life as he finally stopped and leaned back into his chair. A motion to his right alerted him and he turned, in the door a voluminous woman stood, she had an hourglass figure and light brown hair with a swirl on each cheek. Ichigo almost chocked on his own tongue as he stared at her.

"H-hikifune-san?" He asked. Hikifune started laughing.

"Ohh that will never grown old! Don't you worry dearie you see I use my Reiatsu to cook, the more you eat the more you recharge! I must be that big in order to put everything I need into my cooking, but it seems I am done for today. I hope you enjoyed your meal!" She said, smiling at him brightly. Ichigo nodded, a smile also gracing his features.

"Thank you for the food." He said. Hikifune only giggled at him happily.

"Well, on you go! I'm sure Nimaya-san is already waiting for you!" With that she shooed him away towards another…catapult. Ichigo groaned while Hikifune laughed.

"It's not that bad, I'm sure you'll do fine. On you go and hold on tight~!"

Ichigo went flying once again. With a loud 'Ompf' he landed on his knees on the next plateau, he was slightly surprised by his own ability to land on his feet after such a flight. Slowly he got up and looked around.

"Yooo!" Someone called. Ichigo turned to his left. There was a man with black hair and sunglasses, sprawled over a rock and looking at him. "Nimaya is the name. Kurosaki Ichigo isn't that right?" He asked, as he got up and jumped down from his perch. Ichigo nodded as the man walked towards him.

"I'm here to help you attain your Zanpakuto." Nimaya said, pointing at himself with his thumb.

"Don't you mean re-attain?" Ichigo asked back. He missed the weight of Zangetsu on his back.

The other man sighed. "Ahh yes…you're a special case…You see…The sword you've been carrying, that was never Zangetsu."

"W-what are you saying?" Ichigo asked, staring at the man. It couldn't be ture. Zangetsu was…Zangetsu. His Zanpakto, his partner, his friend, the old man that always knew what to say to kick him into gear.

"It's such a shame that I'm the one that has to do this…You don't even know who you are…" With that the man turned at waved at Ichigo to follow him.

 _'Don't know who I am?'_ Ichigo questioned in his thoughts. _'I'm Ichigo…What the hell is he talking about?'_

"I'm sure you're wondering what I'm talking about, give me a minute this might take a while, so it'd be better if you could sit down." So Ichigo swallowed down any of his questions or remarks and followed him inside.

There were girls. Everywhere. All of them pretty and Ichigo stared in total bewilderment. Nimaya only waved him along, ignoring the girls around them for the most part. He led them to a small room, tatami clad floor and small table included, it looked a lot like one of the rooms in Uraharas Shoten. As soon as the thought came Ichigo pushed it away. Nimaya sat down motioning for Ichigo to do the same.

"Were to start…You are aware your father was a Shinigami, yes?" Nimaya asked. Ichigo nodded staring at the man.

"Well your mother was a Quincy. Their first meeting was quite interesting from what I've been told…" And Nimaya told him. How his parents had met, how they had fallen in love, how Aizen had orchestrated it all, how Ichigo had gotten into contact with his powers…

"And you see the one thing nobody ever handed you was an Asauchi. You never never been given one, so how would you materialize a Zanpakuto? The powers you were using were sorely your Quincy powers and the man you met was a manifestation of those…But you have met your true Zanpakuto spirit before…"

"I-I have? But I…Who? I don't think I have ever…" And that's when he remembered. The part of himself that he had always hated, always pushed away and treated with disdain. "….my Hollow?" He whispered, staring at Nimaya. The other man nodded.

"Zanpakuto aren't easy you know? When there is an infection such as one from a Hollow it doesn't simply infect your Soul, it infects your Zanpakuto. And you were born with that infection, so your Zanpakuto was never anything else but a fusion of your Hollow and your Zanpakuto. Do you know what I mean? I'm sure you must have noticed it too? All the times your Zanpakuto has helped you?"

And Ichigo did. All the times he had asked who had thought to be Zangetsu for help and the other had called upon his Hollows power to lend them to Ichigo, never once did Ichigo receive an extra surge of power directly from 'Zangetsu' it had always been…always been his Hollow. When he fought Kenpachi and Byakuya and countless other times he had nearly died if it hadn't been for his Hollow. But still…

"Both…" Ichigo mumbled.

Nimaya looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I think…both of them were Zangetsu…and for me both of them will stay Zangetsu. No matter who they truly were, we still fought…as one…So I believe both of them were 'Zangetsu'." Ichigo said, looking up into Nimaya's eyes with a fire in his own. Nimaya smiled at him slightly.

"Is that so…" He mumbled, bowing his head. "Well you still need a now Zanpakuto…So let's go." With the Nimaya stood up and led the way deeped into his home. Ichigo followed him until Nimaya came to a stop. Ichigo stopped next to him and stared down into a deep hole.

"Get in there and chose one of the Asauchi, and then bring him to me. Sounds easy right?" Nimaya asked, smiling at Ichigo as his eyes gleamed beneath his sunglasses. Ichigo nodded, already weary of what was to come. Nimaya passed him a wooden sword. "Keep them at bay for as long as you can." And with that he gave him a push. Ichigo stumbled forward, straight into the mass of Asauchi down below.

"You know the thing about Asauchi is…you first have to find the right one…and you see they can be quite nasty!" Nimaya said, grinning madly.

"You." He heared. He looked down into the hole, his grin slipped away as he stared at the boy with the orange hair one arm outstretched towards an Asauchi as all of them kneeled around him in a circle.

Nimaya couldn't suppress the smile that wormed its way onto his face.

 _'He truly is something else.'_

"Quite impressive!" He said out loud, watching as Ichigo toughed the Asauchis hand and the blackness that was surrounding him made way for light from where their hands had touched.

Ichigo pulled the Asauchi along as they made their way towards Nimayas workbench. Wordlessly Nimaya took hold of molded the Asauchi.

"When I tell you to I need you to put as much of your spiritual pressure into the blade as you can." Nimaya said a glow already starting to form around his hands as he set to word with his hammer. Sweat was dripping down his brow as he molded the Zanpakuto in his grip.

"Now!" He yelled against the sound of steal on steal. Ichigo put his outstretched hands onto his blade pumping enourmous amounts of spiritual pressure into the blade that was forming and stretching underneath his hands. It hadn't taken them longer than an hour until Ichigo finally stood. Nimaya whipped the sweat of his own forehead before turning towards Ichigo who was standing with his back towards him.

"So? How do you like them?" Nimaya asked. "Those 'Zangetsu's."

In each hand Ichigo held a pitch black blade, one was formed similar to his old Zangetsu, a cleaver bigger than the second sword he held which had the form of a cleaver only it's thickness carried through the whole blade, there was no handle instead the blade had a long rectangular hole which had bandages wrapped around it at its end.

"They…feel right." Ichigo simply said, as he turned with his blades in hand.

"I can imagine." Nimaya said, cracking his neck as he waved Ichigo along. "Come on, I'll show you the way to Senjumaru's place." Ichigo nodded fixing his blades onto his back as he followed Nimaya closely.

He was led to another bridge, luckily.

"Good luck, Ichigo." Nimaya said, waving after him as Ichigo walked the length of the bridge back to Senjumaru's realm.

"Welcome back." Senjumaru greeted him, one of her arms offering him a slight wave as the other beckoned him closer.

"I see you have grown stronger, you will be able to wear the clothes I have prepared for you now." She walked ahead and led him into a room with many fabrics and mannequins. Ichigo tried to suppress any thoughts of Uryuu as he imagined the others Teen's reaction at the sheer amount of fabric covering every surface available.

"Strip." Senjumaru called. Ichigo blushed.

"S-strip? W-what? Right now?!" He asked.

"Of course." Senjumaru only answered. "How else do you expect me to measure your body to perfection."

"WAAAaaaiiiitttt!" Ichigo's screams echoed in the Soul Palace as Senjumaru conducted her measuring.

"Perfect." Senjumaru said, a small smile crossing her features as she stared at the slightly traumatized but fully clothed Ichigo.

He was wearing a Shihakusho with black bands crossing over his chest, his neck and arms were clad in armor and gloves and both Zangetsus had been strapped to his back, wrapped in white bandages. Obscuring some of the view on his Shihakusho was the heavy cloak he was wearing, it was black with red lining and a beautiful stitching of blood red roses at its seams.

"Now then, on you go. The Soul King is sure to be waiting." Senjumaru said, waving him towards another bridge which seemed to lead to the middle piece connecting all the plateaus he had been on.

He walked through a heavy door at Senjuamrus probing and found himself in a long corridor leading towards the floating middle building. He grumbled a little at the fact that not simply every building is connected by such a tunnel but stayed quite as he drew nearer. The door in front of him opened on his own as he stepped closer. The room inside was enormous, the ceiling seemingly endless and no windows on any of the walls. There were guards every few meter and there in the middle in what looked like a gem and obscured by veils was the Soul King.

Ichigo walked towards him. Refusing to let the fact that he was in the presence of the most powerful being in the universe get to him.

 **"I greet you, Kurosaki Ichigo."** A voice called. It seemed to echo of the walls and the endless ceiling right into Ichigos core. He stepped closer towards the steps leading up to the Soul King. Stopping at a respectable distance he looked up and waited. Silence greeted him back.

"Well…What do you want?" Blunt. Honesty was always the easiest way to get an uncomfortable situation to be over.

Laugher greeted him back, vibrating into his entire being at once as it seemed.

 **"Remarkable."** The voice spoke again, and Ichigo could almost feel the amusement that seeped into those words. **"You are a remarkable being, Kurosaki Ichigo. Truly one of a kind…and yet your grief…"**

Ichigo swallowed.

 _'Don't think about it. Don't think about them. You will not break down…not now…'_ He told himself as he pushed down the surge of feelings at the Soul Kings words.

 **"I understand, you wished to protect them…it is why…I have decided to save you."** The Soul King spoke.

 _'Why?...why?...Why? WHY ME?'_ Ichigo screamed at him in his thoughts. Everybody had died…but him. Because he had been saved, by the Soul King.

 **"I know child…I am…sorry…I saw you, I watched over you and I knew that you were the only chance they would have…If you had the chance to change it all…Would you do it Kurosaki Ichigo?"**

 _'…Change…it all? Stop them from dying, protect them, protect their laughs and their lives and their happiness.'_ There was only one answer.

"Yes." Ichigo said, no hesitation in his words.

" **And that is the reason why I have chosen you. You will go back, to the very beginning. I must warn you Kurosaki Ichigo, the world you will step into won't be easy to navigate. It will be strange to you. You will meet people you have loved, and people which you have hated, but don't let their future actions stop you from meeting them as you would have any other…It will be painful Kurosaki Ichigo…but I believe you to be the only one that can…change it all."**

Ichigos thoughts were reeling as the Soul King stopped talking.

"Send me back…?" He asked.

 **"In time."** The Soul King answered. **"To when everything was still as it should have been. Before Aizen Sousuke became who he died as."** The Soul Kings responded.

"Yes." Ichigo whispered. To a time when they are still alive.

 **"As you wish."** The Soul King answered. **"Heed my words, Ichigo. Love and Hate…don't let either blind you."**

And the world vanished in a flash of blinding white light.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm on a roll. I hope you like how this new chapter worked out. I can't promise to always post this quickly, but I will give my best to make in once every two weeks or once every month. Depending on how long the chapter is going to be. As I have already mentioned I have no Pairings planned so far. That might Change in the future but I make no promises. Anyways there are a few OC's in here that I hope you won't mind; I simply felt like adding them.**

 **Disclaimer: I own Nothing.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

„Oi!" A voice was calling, grating and loud. "Oi! Are you still alive?" A sharp prodding on his right side, poking between his ribs.

"Think he's dead?" Another voice asked, this one softer, smaller.

"Well his chest is moving so-"

Ichigo opened his eyes. He instantly winced, the bright sunlight that was greeting him stabbing right into his brain and causing a headache.

"See, told you he was still alive."

Hesitantly Ichigo turned his head. There were three children building a loose circle around him. One of them was squatting next to him. He had brown hair and freckles on his face, one of his front teeth was missing. There was a small girl too, she had dirty blond hair and startling blue eyes, the way in which she seemed to fist her Yukata reminded him of Ururu. The last child in the group was another boy, his hair was spiky and black. He reminded Ichigo of himself when he was that age.

'… _The Soul King…'_ Ichigo realized slowly, the events of the previous days finally catching on to him. With a groan he threw a hand over his eyes and sat up slowly. His entire body was aching for him to stay down.

"Oi! Who are you?" The same voice from the beginning asked. The brown-haired boy was standing next to him, only about a head taller than he was while sitting. Slowly Ichigo got to his feet. He looked over his shoulder, seeing Zangetsu securely wrapped on his back. He turned back towards the children, the boy's question finally registering in his mind.

"I-I'm Ichigo." He told him, putting a small smile on his face as to not scare them away.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Tobi, that's Hinako, and that is Shuhei." The brown-haired boy introduced.

"I'm sorry to ask this, but could you tell me which district I'm in?" Ichigo asked him, scratching the back of his neck while he looked around.

"Did you get drunk and fell asleep here?" The boy – Tobi – asked him, raising one eyebrow at him unimpressed.

"No, no nothing like that…I was injured and don't really remember how exactly I got here." True, only that none of that happened in that order. But he truly had no idea what the Soul King had done for him to end up in the middle of the Rukongai in whichever Time period he currently was in. His brow furrowed suddenly, eyes wandering back over the children.

'… _Shuhei?'_ He blinked a couple of times and stared at the black-haired boy. _'Shuhei…Hisagi?'_ He tried imagining the boy with a 69 Tattoo on his face, it was hard because the kid wasn't frowning was much as his grown-up version.

"A-are you okay?" The small girl ripped him out of his thoughts, she was looking at him worriedly.

"Ahh yeah I'm fine…just…I really need to know which district I'm in."

"46." Shuhei answered. It had been the first time he had spoken, his voice was soft, bordering on the line of airy and he would not meet Ichigos eyes. Opting instead to stare at the ground to his feet.

"Thank you." Ichigo said, a small frown furrowing his brows. "You…are you all by yourselves?"

The small girl nodded hesitantly, Tobi had drawn himself up putting his body as a protective shield between Ichigo and his friends.

"What's it to you?" He asked him, eyes narrowed as he glared at him.

Ichigo held his hands up in a placating manner.

"I don't want to hurt you or anything…Really I'm just worried that three kids have to live out here by themselves…" And he was. Rukongai was no place for children, even if it was one of the middle districts there were still enough Rogues and criminals among the people here.

"I'm planning on signing up for the Academy." Ichigo suddenly said, looking down at the children.

"A Shinigami?" Shuhei asked, pressing his lips together as his eyes settled on Ichigo for the first time.

Ichigo nodded.

"I was wondering…do you wish to accompany me? I know travelling between Districts by yourself is dangerous, but I could bring you into one of the lower Districts…" He offered gently.

"We can't." Hinako answered softly.

"Why not?" Ichigo asked her.

"The others." Tobi mumbled. "We're not the only ones you know…Hinako, Shuhei and me only when out to collect some food. We're the only ones with enough spiritual pressure to need to eat." He said, kicking at the ground below.

"The others don't have as much pressure…if we leave them alone…What will happen to them?" Hinako said, twisting her dirty Yukata in her hands.

"What if – What if I take all of you along?" Ichigo asked, licking his lips. He really did not like the idea of leaving a couple of children to fend for themselves.

"All of us?" Hinako asked him, her eyes big as she stared at him.

Ichigo nodded. "Yes, it might take a while and we will be considerably slower…but I don't want to just…leave you here." Ichigo told her. Because she reminded him of Ururu. Because that boy reminded him of himself. Because one of them had been his comrade in another time.

"Really?" Hinako asked him, awe in her voice and a strand of blond hair falling between her eyes as she looked at him excitedly.

Ichigo chuckled. "Yes, really."

Tobi looked at him for a second longer, assessing him from head to toe, before nodding slowly.

"Also, I need somebody that knows in which direction the Academy is." Ichigo told them, grinning at them in embarrassment. Hinako giggled softly while Shuhei looked at him a little dumfounded.

"Okay. We can tell you where to go and you can take us to another district. Come on, you can stay with us for the night. It's too late to start wandering through the Rukongai now." With that Tobi started walking away. Hinako was on his trail instantly, folding her hands behind her back as she skipped along. Shuhei hesitated for a second, casting a look at him before following after his friends. Ichigo walked after them, his eyes never wavering from their small backs.

It was remarkable, that these children lived here by themselves, only having each other to depend upon.

They walked for a good ten minutes before houses started appearing around them sporadically. Most of them were run down, made of wood and without any windows. The kids stopped in front of a tiny house to their right, it was secluded from the others, a thick patch of bushes hiding it from view. Tobi had apparently already gone inside and alterted the other children.

Now Ichigo saw himself face to face with a group of 7 children, Hinako, Tobi and Shuhei among them.

"That's him?" A girl with black hair and eyes asked, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she stared at him.

"Jup." Tobi nodded, casting a grin at her that showed off his tooth gap.

"Doesn't look like much…" A boy with dark brown hair and soft green eyes said, he was wearing a brown Yukata with a dark green stash and was standing slightly behind the others.

"Yeah, are you sure he'd be able to get us and himself to another district?" Another boy asked, his blond hair falling down unto his shoulders as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Ichigo hard.

Tobi shrugged his shoulders. "It's our best choice, if we ever want to get out of here. I don't think anybody else will ever offer to take us."

Ichigo hesitated for a second before crouching down, bringing himself eye level or lower than the children. Unthreatening.

"Listen. I promise I am strong enough to get you out of here. If I wasn't I wouldn't have offered to take you along. If you wish to remain behind…I can understand that. And that doesn't mean it will be the last you have seen from me. If you wish to stay here, I will come to visit you. But…I think it'd be the best if you came with me. To one of the lower districts…away from this place. It's not safe enough for children." He said gently.

The boy with the blond hair glared at him.

"We manage just fine. And what's it to you anyway? Tobi said they found you in a ditch and suddenly you want to…What? Safe us?" His lips were pressed into a thin line, forehead ceased into a frown as he glared at him.

"Yes." Ichigo told him. Not hiding his worry for once.

"It is true, your friends, Tobi and Hinako and Shuhei, they found me. I had been injured and didn't know where I was, they were nice enough to tell me which district I am in…But I cannot leave this place and just leave you behind. That's just wrong. The Rukongai is way too dangerous, especially these districts."

The blond boy was staring at him now, his glare having diminished away as he listened to Ichigo.

"I believe him." Another girl said, her hair was hanging in a high ponytail and she had dark blue eyes.

Ichigo nodded at her with a small smile.

"You sure about him Tobi?" The blond-haired boy asked once again.

"Jup." Tobi only said, grinning happily.

"I'm Ichigo." Ichigo told them, smiling at them.

"Mina." The girl with the black hair and black eyes that had inquired about him at first answered, before walking back into the house.

"I'm Yuushi." The boy with the green eyes answered, bowing his head into Ichigos direction. Ichigo nodded back at him and smiled.

"Shuu." The boy with shoulder length blond hair said, throwing his hair over his shoulder and following the other girl inside.

"I'm Hana. It's a pleasure to meet you." The girl that had spoken last introduced herself, bowing to him deeply before standing back up.

"Pleasure." Ichigo simply answered.

"We'll get going in the morning?" Yuushi asked turning towards Tobi and Ichigo.

"Yes." Ichigo answered. "I'll keep watch for you tonight, you guys get some sleep. I'm guessing it will take a while for us to get through all these Districts."

The other children nodded and slowly filed into the house. Ichigo sighed deeply. Not even a few hours here and he had already encountered somebody he had once known. He would have loved to ask the children in what time he had landed but had refrained from doing so. They were already hard pressed to believe him, asking such a question just wouldn't do. But at the very least he would be able to ensure Shuhei's survival.

God knows what the man – boy, whatever; would have gone through if Ichigo wouldn't escort them to a safer District. With another sigh he slowly sat down, pulling the clock Senjumaru had made him around his shoulders tightly. He was facing outwards, the house with the children inside in his back as he stared into the night. Hoping that no stray hollow would find them.

He sat there, the whole night. Contemplating and waiting. Shuhei looked small, but physical age hardly said anything about one's true age in the Seireitei. Still Ichigo guessed that he had travelled about 100-200 years into the past. He ran a hand through his hair. Should he encourage the other kids to become Shinigami too?

He had blurted out that he planned on attending the Academy but the more he thought about it the more appealing the idea became.

He would have to hide his cloak, it was too expensively made and clean for someone that had supposedly lived in the outer skirts of Rukongai. But attending the Academy would allow him a look into the inner workings of the Seireitei.

He would be able to detect Aizen Sousuke easily, form friendships with people he knew to be trustworthy and keep on the outlook for any others. Still it would be hard, he would have to avoid lying to anybody whenever possible.

He would tell them that he had only come to the Seireitei a short while ago, so it would leave them thinking he had died not long ago. He would have to stick to half-truths of simply obscure the truth enough to leave himself to be believable, all the while maintaining the picture that he knew none of the people he had once called friends and comrades. Who knew who else he would run into.

When the first rays of sunshine were tickling his nose Ichigo was still sitting in the exact same position he had the night before. The kids were slowly getting up, one after the other they joined him outside. Ichigo got up from his position on the floor and looked at them.

"Everybody awake?" He asked, looking over the assortment of children, some still rubbing sleep from their eyes.

"I will take you to one of the lower districts…but while we travel I need you to stay close together, okay? And I need you to listen to what I say. When I say run, you run. No looking back, no hesitating. When I say hide, you hide. Each one of you has to first look after themselves, when you are safe that is when I want you to start wondering about each other. Still keep on the lookout for each other and try not to stray from the group. The best would be if you would form teams of two and try to stick together as best as you can. Do you think you can do all that?" Ichigo asked, looking at them sternly.

He had sometimes talked to Yuzu and Karin like that, when they had been younger, and their parents had left Yuzu and Karin in Ichigos hands. Stern, yet gentle and with just enough pressure to make them understand how important it is for them to listen to him.

All of the children were looking at him with wide eyes. For most of them it had been the first time anybody older than them had expressed true worry for their safety, for others it had simply been the first time any grown up had ever had the audacity to give them any rules or regulations.

Still all of them nodded.

"I'm with Shuhei!" Tobi yelled excitedly, grin already stretching across his face. Shuhei looked at him with a raised eyebrow for a second before rolling his eyes and smiling at his friend, bowing to his wishes. The other children slowly got into teams.

"Alright…Do you have anything you want to take with you?" Ichigo asked. Hana and Yuushi walked back inside and got their blankets, passing the ratty things one to each of their friends. Ichigo helped them tie them to their backs like backpacks with a piece of string.

"Good, we're ready to go." He said, smiling at the group of kids in front of him. Really, not even a day in Seireitei and he had already assembled an elementary school class. Still he couldn't help the small twist his heart gave as he looked at the children in front of him. All of them young and looking at him with hope in their faces. And he knew that he couldn't let them down. This was his first chance to change something, to make it right.

"I'm going to walk on ahead, try to keep my back into your view at all times, I don't want to lose any of you." He told them sternly, feeling like he truly had become a teacher going onto an excursion with his class. He sighed mentally. He was not prepared for any of this. But he knew it was the right thing. If he was in any position to help these kids, he knew he would, he knew he had to. Not simply because Shuhei had been his comrade, but because he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had left them behind.

The children followed him closely, he could hear them chatting excitedly behind him, cracking jokes and playing pranks on each other. Tobi would run up next to him sometimes, telling him in which direction to go.

"How do you know where the Seireitei is located? From my point of view everything looks pretty much the same around here." Ichigo told him, looking down at the boy next to him.

"Ohh that's easy, there are a lot of people that travel through here, either to get to some of the worst districts or to get to the Seireitei. Sometimes Shinigami come through and tell us in which direction to go should we want to sign up for the Academy. They like to talk to kids with high spiritual pressure. A few also stopped by our place before, but none of them were ever interested in our other friends. It was only ever Shuhei, Hinako and me." Tobi explained to him, his gaze darkening a little as he spoke.

"That seems unfair." Ichigo told him softly.

"It is!" Tobi said, brow furrowing in the wake of his indignation. "I mean I know that it's important to have spiritual pressure in order to become a Shinigami, but they sometimes pretend like anybody else – like anybody that doesn't have any is somehow worthless…It's just…just really wrong." The boy said, folding his arms over his chest as he spoke.

Ichigo nodded along with him, he had never before contemplated the topic. Had never had the time to question any more of Seireiteis doings. But it was true. Any Soul that had the misfortune of being placed into one of the farther districts, and having no spiritual pressure was sure to be dead within a day or two.

"I know…" Ichigo mumbled, putting a hand on Tobis shoulder. "But I won't let them separate you. And if you ever wish to attend the Academy, I'm sure you can go and visit your friends whenever you want." Ichigo said.

Tobi nodded slowly before joining his friends once again. They had made surprisingly good progress on that day. Started out in the middle of the 63 District they now found themselves on the border to the 52, the sun was slowly sinking and Ichigo had stopped together with the children.

"We should see if we can find somewhere to sleep tonight." Ichigo said, "Don't walk too far away while you go looking for something and stay together!" He called after them as they scrambled into every direction to find a place to sleep. In the end they opted to camp outside. They had found a rock and positioned themselves with their backs to it. The children cuddled together under the blanket.

"I'm going to stay awake, together with Yuushi!" Tobi announced, looking at Ichigo. Ichigo was just about to deny him when a yawn worked its way from his lips. Tobi grinned at him winningly.

"Okay…but the second you become tired I want you to wake me up. I'm used to walking around with little sleep, but it wouldn't do for us to slow down because you didn't sleep at all tonight." Ichigo told him, frowning deeply. He really was starting to sound like a teacher…or some grown up. Not like him at all. But he knew that he had to be this way, the children wouldn't understand otherwise.

Tobi nodded at him and Ichigo laid down with a sigh, he startled when he felt a weight settle next to him. Turning a little he saw that Hinako had laid down next to him, using his belly as a pillow. She was grinning up to him cheekily.

"You know the boys will probably wake me up later and then I will have to wake you to get up." He asked her, exasperation already coloring his voice. Hinako only smiled at him shyly.

"That's okay." She said. He shook his head and ruffled her hair. Taking off his cloak he threw it over them both of them making Hinako giggle happily.

"Sleep." He told her, flicking her in the forehead. She was asleep within seconds.

He himself drifted off just as quickly, time travel apparently did a number on your body. He woke to Tobi gently probing his side, smiling his tooth missing smile at him.

Ichigo only nodded at him quietly and got up, careful not to jostle Hinako too much. Before Tobi could walk away Ichigo took him by the shoulder and pushed him into his cloak. Making him lie down next to Hinako, who was sleeping on peacefully.

"Sleep." Ichigo whispered, tucking the cloak around both children as Tobi looked at him with wide eyes. The boy only nodded and slowly closed his eyes.

Ichigo looked around only to see that Yuushi had already fallen asleep, sitting up and leaning against the rock. He walked over and gently lowered the boy also covering him with a blanket as he went. The rest of the night he spent looking out into the woods, trying to concentrate on the fluctuation Spiritual pressures around him and make out any Hollows in the distance.

They rose, once again with the first rays of sunshine. The kids were yawning and stretching, putting their blankets together like Ichigo had showed them. Hinako handed him his cloak with an apologetic smile. He only grinned at her and ruffled her hair.

They spent the next day in a similar fashion. Walking through fields and forests and small villages. Ichigo was surprised that they had not encountered any problems so far.

They were just crossing an open field when Ichigo felt it. Spiritual Pressures, surrounding them in the trees and behind rocks, closing in on them from every direction. There was only one direction to run into, where they had come from.

Hollows.

Everywhere.

"RUN!" Ichigo yelled pointing to the forest they had just stepped out of.

"RUN AND DON'T LOOK BACK!" And they ran. The hollows were creeping closer. Ichigo stopped on the edges of the forest, drawing his swords as he listened to twigs and leaves breaking and rustling as the children made their escape. A hollow creeped out from behind a pair of rocks in front of him. It was enormous, growing in size as Ichigo was watching it.

A mask that looked similar to a spider, as tendrils or feet seemed to wave around its head. It had tentacles sprouting from its body into every direction. A long tongue, dripping salvia was hanging from it is mouth. With a roar the Hollow lunged for him. Ichigo dodged the tentacles that cracked the ground where he had stood at like spears and hacked away at them. Blood was spraying into every direction. The Hollow turned its ugly face skywards, screaming loudly in pain.

That's when he felt it. Another Hollow. Seemingly materializing out of nowhere. Without further ado Ichigo jumped into the air holding the bigger Zangetsu in front of him he cleaved it right through the first Hollows mask before twisting around midair and striking for the second Hollow aiming for him. As he turned he could see its ugly white face, teeth already bared at him as it was about to lunge for his neck. He cleaved right through its mask once again.

And then they came. Hollows upon hollows one after the other attacking him. He fell into the Routine of dodging and swinging. An especially big one had seemingly taken more interest in him than any of the others, it kept on dodging his attacks, its speed almost uncanny taken its size into account. The fast Hollow was dodging him again when Ichigo felt it, behind him a Hollow had crept up its claw already drawn to strike at him.

' _Shit!'_ Ichigo thought, bracing himself for impact. It never came. He stared at the back of the man in front of him.

He was wearing a white Haori, with the Japanese sign for seven at the top and the name Muguruma written down the expanse of the rest of the clothing. And suddenly the man wasn't alone anymore. Three others had joined him. Fighting off the Hollows and keeping them away from the forest the children hat vanished into.

And then Ichigo saw it.

Shockingly bright green hair and a bubbly voice that attacked Hollows left right and center all the while singing some children's song happily. And another with Haori, this one only having the number seven written on it, and a man with silver hair. Muguruma.

Kensei.

Mashiro.

Ichigo didn't know if he wanted to curse or hug them. He didn't have the time to dwell on the issue any longer as he saw one of the Hollows aiming for another man's back, this one having long brown hair. He jumped and blocked the blow that would have beheaded the man. He pushed back against the Hollows. Fighting back to back with a stranger. A stranger that was part of Kenseis Division. That was more than enough reason for Ichigo to trust him with his back.

It was over after another ten minutes of fighting. They all continued to stand for a second longer awaiting the next wave of attacks before relaxing their stances.

' _The kids!'_ Ichigo turned towards the forest without further ado.

"Oi!" A voice behind him yelled, he ignored it.

"TOBI! HINAKO! SHUHEI!" He yelled into the forest. "MINA! SHUU! HANA! YUUSHI! IT'S OKAY YOU CAN COME OUT AGAIN!" He walked into the forest, continuing to call their names. His senses were still going into overdrive, the adrenaline rushing through his veins but settling slowly. He heard a twig breaking to his right and turned around quickly.

Hinako was standing in front of him. Her feet were bleeding and tears were gathering in her eyes as she stared at Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" She yelled, throwing herself around his neck and sobbing. "I was so worried!"

He put his Zangetsus on the forest ground for a second and hugged her back, patting her back and stroking her hair reassuringly.

"It's okay. Do you know where the others have gone?" Just as the question was leaving his mouth the other children came out of several trees around them. Shuhei and Mina were also close to crying sniffing a little.

"Everybody okay?" Ichigo asked them. Hinako gently lowered her arms, allowing Ichigo to pick Zangetsu back up and put them onto his back once again. They all nodded at him slowly.

He escorted them out of the forest again. He noticed Hinako stumbling a few times. Taking in her bleeding feet he stopped her and simply picked her up. Carrying her on his right arm as he had done multiple times with his little sisters.

When they stepped out of the forest, the carnage around them had already mostly vanished. Blood was still staining the ground and trees and rocks around them, but the corpses had vanished. Kensei and his Division were standing a little farther away. The man with the brown hair was standing facing the forest and saw Ichigo and the children stepping onto the clearing.

He gestured and said something. Kensei turned, Mashiro who was standing next to him did the same. Ichigo swallowed down the bile in his throat as he saw how similar and yet different they looked to when he had known them. Kenseis eyes narrowed as he looked at Ichigo.

He walked towards him, his men following him closely. Ichigo also walked straight towards him, setting down Hinako onto the ground gently as they were a few feet away. The other children had gathered behind Ichigos back. He turned and shot them a small smile before meeting Kensei face to face, Mashiro to his right side.

"I'm Muguruma Kensei, Captain of the ninth Division of the 13 Court Guard Squad. Who are you? Which Division do you belong to?" Kensei said, his mouth pulled downwards and staring at him in a no-nonsense kind of manner. Ichigo refused to be cowed.

"Kensei, huh?" Was all he said, ignoring the comment about the 13 Court Guard Squads. "I'm Ichigo." Him simply said.

"I'm Mashiro!" Mashiro piped up happily, waving at him and smiling. A tick mark formed on Kenseis head as he tried his best not to hit his lieutenant.

"Ichigo...and what are you doing here?" Kensei asked.

"I could ask you the same." Ichigo responded bluntly. Kensei glared at him for a second. Ichigo sighed.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I'm just travelling through here. Brining the kids to one of the lower Districts." Ichigo answered.

"Why?" Kensei instantly asked.

"Uhh…Because I was going into the same direction and didn't want to leave a bunch of kids alone in a high-ranking district?" Ichigo answered.

"Which district?" Kensei asked immediately. Now Ichigo just pulled up his eyebrows at him.

"63." He said. "We're heading towards 20 or lower."

Kensei still didn't seem happy with the response.

"You didn't answer my second question. Which Division do you belong to?" Kensei asked.

"None." Ichigo told him. Standing up straighter.

"None? You haven't gone to the Academy?" Kensei asked him sharply.

"No." Ichigo simply answered.

"You said you were heading towards the lower districts and decided to take the kids along?" Kensei asked again suddenly.

Ichigo only nodded.

"Why are you heading there?"

"Planning on joining the Academy." Ichigo told him bluntly.

"Someone like you…I would have really thought you already attended the Academy." Kensei mumbled. "Is that your Zanpakuto?" He then asked, pointing over Ichigos shoulder at his Zangetsus.

' _No point in lying about that.'_ Ichigo thought.

"Yes." He answered out loud.

"You attained your Zanpakuto, without attending the Academy first?" One of the men behind Kensei spoke up, awe reflecting in his voice.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders and nodded at him in answer.

"So, you are planning on becoming part of the Gotei Thirteen, huh?" Another piped up. It was the man with the brown hair, the one that Ichigo had fought with back to back.

"Yes." Ichigo simply answered.

"Well when your done sign up for the ninth, we work well as a team." The brown-haired man answered. "The name's Eishima!" He introduced himself, waving at Ichigo with one hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'll remember that." Ichigo answered, smiling at the man.

"Okay, okay stop recruiting men for me Eishima." Kensei told him, turning around to his subordinate.

"Why ever not Captain. You've seen him fight before. He's definitely capable enough to become a part of our troop. Possibly within the next two years if he is as good in the other areas as he is at handling his Zanpakuto." Eishima said, shrugging his shoulder and looking away as Kensei glared at him.

Kensei cleared his voice turning back towards Ichigo.

"Have you noticed any strange happenings around here?" He then asked.

"…Strange happenings?" Ichigo echoed. "Like what?"

"People vanishing." Kensei said.

"…Vanishing you say…?" Ichigo mumbled, frown deepening. "No…but I'm not from around here. And I haven't been to the Soul Society for long…so I really can't tell." He shook his head in apology at him.

"Have you noticed any people vanishing lately?" Ichigo asked as he turned around towards the children.

All of them shook their heads no. Ichigo turned back towards Kensei and gestured towards the children.

"You heard them." He said.

Kensei nodded.

"It's not safe around here. And the sun is setting. I would suggest that you leave this place as quickly as possible." Kensei said.

"You too." Ichigo said back. Unable to stop himself from speaking. He did not know why but something told him that all of them should leave this place as quickly as possible.

Kensei raised his eyebrow.

"It's not safe. Not even for a troop of Shinigami like you. You are 6 people. Who knows what else is out there besides Hollows." Ichigo simply said. Something…something wasn't right. He didn't know what it was.

A whisper came to him. Knowledge, feelings, colors, smell, experiences and memories. They rushed into his head. He staggered forward a little.

"Woha!" A hand on his arm stabilized him as he tried his best to bring his breathing under control.

' _What-what was that?'_ Ichigo thought frantically.

His head was hammering, filled with knowledge that wasn't his. His head was going into overdrive trying to detangle his own from somebody else's memories. He knew…knew what this place was. He knew this time…110 years ago. 110 years into the past.

When Aizen Sosuke had started his experiments of turning Souls into Hollows. And when he would in the following 9 years, bring his experiments to the next level and turn 4 Captains, several lieutenants and the Vice of the Kido Squad into Hollows. It would start today. He would have 9 years to gather enough evidence to stop Aizen Sosuke from ever turning into the monster he had become.

Ichigo slowly stood up straight, evening out his breathing and shaking of the hand Kensei had used to stabilize him.

"You should get out of here." Ichigo told him, voice croaking as he stared at Kensei. The silver haired man held his gaze for a second before nodding slowly.

"It's not safe around here, that much is clear. We will postpone our search to another time." He said as he turned towards his men. Ichigo let out a shuddering breath.

"It's getting late." Kensei said, looking at the children behind Ichigo. "You can use Shunpo?" He asked Ichigo then. Ichigo nodded.

"Each one of us could carry a child and get them out of here." Kensei proposed. Ichigo turned towards the kids. They looked exhausted, Mina was swaying on her feet and Hinako had sat down, apparently unable to remain standing given her injury.

"Would that be okay?" Ichigo asked the children. They looked at each other first and then nodded.

"Thank you." Ichigo said, as he turned towards Kensei.

Kensei waved his worries away.

"No problem." He said. He made his way towards Shuhei, simply grabbed him around the middle and threw him over his shoulder. Shuhei landed with a small 'Ompf'. Kensei looked at Shuheis face seeing the tear tracks that were marking his cheeks.

"What's your Name?" He asked him, as he looked down at him.

"H-Hisagi. Shuhei." Shuhei answered.

"That's a strong name. You shouldn't cry." Kensei said, before he pulled Shuhei further into his tattooed chest and started walking.

Ichigo kneeled next to Hinako and picked her up, she slung her thin arms around his neck and held on. Slowly the kids were picked up one after the other. Tobi had been taken by Mashiro much to Ichigos amusement since she was already using Shunpo to jump from one side of the clearing to the other, Tobi on her shoulders and laughing along with her.

"Everybody ready?" Kensei asked, looking back at his men, each carrying a child. "Alright, let's go." They vanished from the clearing in a burst of Shunpo.

Hinako was holding onto Ichigos Shihakusho for dear life, having closed her eyes and buried her face into his chest as the wind kept rushing past them.

They landed in the 18th District just as the sun was setting. Ichigo had never been more thankful for Shunpo than at that moment. Most of the children had fallen asleep along the way. Their respective protectors didn't seem to mind and simply carried on. Eishima was carrying Mina and had grinned at Ichigo brightly as he had shown him how she had cuddled into his chest. Ichigo couldn't help himself from chuckling.

They gently woke them up. Each one setting them down onto the ground.

"Thank you." Ichigo said once again, turning towards Kensei. Before he however could open his mouth Eishima spoke up.

"Don't mention it, just remember to sign up for the ninth when your done with the Academy if you really want to repay us." He told him with a grin. Kensei sighed, seemingly having given up on every single member of his Division.

Ichigo only laughed.

"Alright, I'll remember that. Come on guys, let's see if we can find a place to sleep." Ichigo then said gesturing for the children and keeping an eye on them. With one last nod towards Kensei he turned and walked away.

.

.

.

"So, what do you think of him, Captain?" Eishima asked as they watched Ichigo and the kids go.

Kensei sighed and scratched his neck.

"A good kid. A good kid that wants to protect others. I don't think he's the one responsible for the vanishings." He said.

"Of course, he isn't." Eishima immediately agreed.

Kensei looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"He's way to kind for that." Eishima simply explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"Eishima?" Kensei asked.

"Yes, Captain?" He answered.

"Refrain from recruiting random people into our Division in the future." Kensei simply said and walked away.

"Come on, Captain! I know you want him to join us too! I saw how you looked at him after that fight in the forest!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Back with another chapter, sorry it took me a little longer, and sorry for any mistakes and typos…I was so tired while writing this.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Answering a few Questions/ Reviews:

Luthy: *winces* My poor eardrums…But thank you. I will continue this, one chapter every month, maybe more often when I can find the time.

Is this the scene where Mashiro and Kensei would have met Aizen as the traitor the first time and would have been turned into Hollows? Yes, yes it is.

* * *

With a sigh Ichigo, once again, tucked the children in. Many of them had the habit of sleeping with their belly out or turned so many times at night that they completely kicked off their blankets. He looked around the small abandoned cottage they had found.

The first night they had all been too tired to clean up, simply happy to have found any semblance of shelter they had laid down and almost immediately fallen asleep. The following days had been spent cleaning out the cottage. It had many leaks and holes in the roof that needed repairing but after a few days' work it was a decent place enough for all of them. They even found some blankets and cutlery somebody had thrown out. All in all, the place was still better than the last place they had stayed in.

Ichigo had flashed over to the borders to the Seireitei once, checking how long it would take him back to the children. He was more than happy to say that his Shunpo was good enough at this point to allow him to reach the distance within less than 20 minutes. An acceptable distance for him to go back many times per day or week.

He'd simply have to explain that he had children to take care of…Not something he thought he'd have to worry about at this point in his life, but there was no changing it.

He did not regret taking the kids with him, they proved to be kind and funny, well as funny as a child's humor could be. They were all good children as far as Ichigo could tell, none of them had ever had any semblance of parental guidance yet they still had manners, were polite and kind.

He could only guess how they would grow up to be with him as one of their idols.

Then again, his only real guidance had come in the form of a crazy man with a goatee and a guy wearing a bucket hat and he had turned out okay…mostly…

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts Ichigo turned his head back to look outside of the small window the cottage had, it was the second night in a row he had held night watch the children had been exhausted through the journey, Hinakos feet were still not completely healed yet. He had done his best, using his years of having lived in a Hospital and often helped his father when he was smaller.

Another resolution formed in Ichigos head as he thought about the faces the little girl pulled when she tried to stand on her feet. Human medicine helped a great deal, but had he known true healing her wound would already be gone. He would learn how to use Kido, would learn how to heal…maybe he would even join the 4th. That Division was the heart of the Gotei Thirteen, yet it hardly ever got any semblance of recognition.

Being strong was portrayed to be the admirable trait, being good at healing people was for weaklings…how many times had he heard those words from his friends at the 11th…too many times to count…He also had the invitation from Eishima to join the 9th. Those people already knew him, trusted him even to some degree. It would be easy to slip in with their ranks…or…or he could walk straight into the lion's den.

The 5th.

Shinji and Aizen.

Both intelligent, both perspective, suspicious people that could manipulate and lie without batting an eyelid.

No, not the 5th.

Too many variables, too many hurdles and people that were too suspicious.

It would have to be a Division that would allow him to grow and show his strength, yet a Division that would also place him into a position of respect. That annihilated the 11th, he didn't want to be known as a hooligan from the Rukongai and as much as he loved their rambunctious spirit, he couldn't deal with that at every moment of every day.

The 4th…had Unohana. Not a good idea.

He would have to find another way to get that Division more recognition.

12th? Ohh god no.

Never.

Again.

Placing oneself anywhere near Kisuke was bound to mean disaster.

And he had nowhere near the intelligence to get into the 12th. Not with one of the traitors…maybe the 3rd? Ichimaru Gin would prove to be a powerful ally…yet he would have to threat very, very carefully. No, no he would also have to be dealt with at a later time.

The 9th. He would follow Eishimas words and apply for the 9th. If he managed to get into and through the Academy that is.

The next morning came with a brightly shining sun, the children were as energetic as always, already running around and playing tag outside. Hinako and Mina were sitting in the shadow of a tree near the others, playing around with the flowers littering the grass around them. Ichigo stood up and cracked his neck. He looked down at the simple Yukata he was wearing, dark red with a blue stash. He would have to leave his cloak and clothing here for the time being.

"Oi!" He called out to Tobi, the boy turned towards him with a bright grin catapulting himself right into Ichigos midsection.

"What is it?" He asked Ichigo innocently, still holding onto him, his grin stretching.

"You little…" Ichigo mumbled, trying hard to look annoyed and keep his own grin off his face.

"I was going to say that I will be gone for a little while. I'll go and write up for the Academy." He told him, ruffling his hair as he detangled himself form the little black-haired flea.

"Ehh? It's time already?" Tobi asked.

Ichigo nodded at him. "Yes, heard it from a few villagers the other day. Wish me luck and take care of everybody until I am back."

"Your leaving Ichi-nii?" Hinako asked, tears were already gathering in her eyes and she swayed on her feet making her way towards him. He quickly met her halfway through the way and caught her before she could meet the ground.

"Yeah, but it's not like I'm gone forever. I'll settle into the Academy for the next few days and then I'll come and visit you as soon as possible." He told her gently. She pressed her lips together, upset at him leaving and disapproving of his statement.

"Can I come with you?" She asked him then, her glistening blue eyes staring at him pleadingly.

"I'm sorry princess…" Ichigo said softly.

He desperately wanted to say 'yes', wanted to take them all with him, all the way out of the Rukongai and into the admittedly most secure place in the whole of the Soul Society. But they were too young, too young to hold a sword or even think about fighting.

Hinakos bottom lip was trembling now, tears already rolling down her puffy cheeks as she sniffed and buried her head in his neck.

"But…but if your older…if your older I won't stop you from becoming a Shinigami. But not right now, okay?" He quickly tried to sooth her, stroking her back and trying not to look as panicky as he felt on the inside. He really couldn't deal with children crying…he was surely doing something wrong, because instead of stopping her wails, Hinako only held onto him tighter.

Mina gave him an unimpressed look and stepped closer, reaching out her small hand to touch Hinako's back.

"He'll be back…you heard him. He doesn't go back on his promises, right?" The last question was posed while she stared him dead in the eye, daring him to lie to her. He was very much reminded of some hybrid between Soifon and Unohana. Unwavering strength and a very, very scary aura.

"Y-yes exactly. I'll be back before you even notice." He quickly agreed, eyeing the black-haired girl in front of him.

"Promise?" Hinako whispered, letting up to look into his face.

"Promise, promise." Ichigo told her, smiling at her. He slowly set her onto the ground, letting Mina support her to not hurt her feet too much.

The other children had gathered around them, all looking reluctant to let him go.

"Be careful." Yuushi told him softly, smiling at him in a fashion that reminded him all too much of Juushiro.

"You too." Ichigo said, patting his shoulder.

"Come back." Shuuhei said, his eyes frank and shoulder squared in a surprisingly confident manner. Ichigo smiled at him broadly.

"I will." Ichigo said solemnly.

"Be back soon, you hear!" Tobi told him, punching him in the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, flea." Ichigo said, ruffling his hair. Tobi mock pouted at him but changed it into a grin quickly.

Ichigo turned away from them, hugging or ruffling hair as he went.

"See you soon!" Tobi yelled after him.

"Stay safe!" Ichigo simply yelled back, waving over his shoulder, before vanishing in a burst of Shunpo.

He tried to ignore the tugging at his heart. He had wanted to stay. Had truly wanted to stay. But he couldn't. The knowledge the Soul King had given him on that day in the clearing had a price. Knowing had a price. Responsibility. He knew where he was, when he was, what he had to do. Collect evidence, get Aizen arrested, avoid being discovered, destroy the Hogyoku so it can never be used.

Make sure everybody you know…lives. Had somebody ever told him the things that were to happen to him on the first day he had met Rukia, he would have called him insane.

Explosions? God? Time travel?

Not things he had ever thought to be on his mind back when he was still a normal high schooler. But that wasn't right. He had never been normal. Had always been able to see ghosts. And he had always been what he is now, the only difference was that he now knew all of these things – was no longer ignorant to his own heritage, to his parents and the life's the lived. He would make his mother proud…and his father.

He stopped in his tracks.

His father…he was…a captain…he is…a Captain. The Captain of the 10th.

Would he be recognized as a Shiba?

No, he would stick by the story he had already told to the Kensei and his Division. He hasn't been to the Seireitei for long; for all they knew he could be some distant relative which had died and been reincarnated. It couldn't be helped. He would have to brace himself. Feign ignorance. That was the best route he could take.

The proud gates leading into the Seireitei broke him out of his musings. Today, instead of Jindanbon there were a couple of Shinigami stationed at a small entrance of the wall which had been lifted. A small line of people was already waiting to be let in. They were being checked by two burly looking guys which could only belong to the 11th. Ichigo got into line, squaring his shoulders nervously as he waited to be let in.

"Next!" A smaller Shinigami with square glasses yelled, waving his hand at the line impatiently.

The group shuffled forward, Ichigo yawned. This could take a while.

He had no idea how long he stood there, surrounded by other men and women that had the same hopes as him. Being admitted to the Academy. Only their end goal was decidedly different from his.

"Next!" The man yelled again, Ichigos attention snapped back to reality.

Only 2 people in front of him. He felt nervous, somehow. His stomach forming knots and grumbling as he swallowed against the lump in his throat. Why the hell was he nervous? He had no reason to be. They would let him into the Seireitei and he would get into the Academy.

"Next!"

But what if he wasn't? _Nonsense._ A small voice in his head whispered harshly, _why the ever-loving hell should they not let you in. Look at the guy getting checked right now, they are just waving him through._

'Yeah…but what if…' Another nagging voice whispered faintly.

 _Shut up._

"Next!"

Good god, help me.

A sudden rush filled Ichigo, it was warmth and kindness. It seemed to fill him from the inside out, like a hand on his shoulder or a firm hug telling him that everything would be alright.

Ichigo stepped forward. The two gorillas started checking him. He had no bag on him, so they simply made a basic body search, patting down his arms and legs for anything hidden. One of them grunted and gestured at Zangetsu on his back.

"Those are my Zanpakuto." Ichigo told him evenly, guessing the nature of his question. The man with the glasses made a note on his pad.

"And your name is…?" He asked Ichigo. He sounded arrogant for want of a better word.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

The man sniffed once, made another note on his pad and nodded at the two gorillas. They both shooed him through.

"Next!" Ichigo could already hear the man behind him yell.

He looked around in awe. He had made it. Another rush of warmth. Ichigo furrowed his brows but ignored it for the time being.

A strange sense of nostalgia filled him as he looked around the houses and streets surrounding him. A few people were lingering around, decidedly different from the Shinigami filled streets upon his invasion. He chuckled quietly, remembering Yoruichis yelling, Uryuus quite disdain and back-up clothes, Orihimes innocent remarks and Chads quite strength. It had been a good time. Easier.

"This way." A gentle female voice directed. Ichigo looked around and saw a young girl with brown hair gesturing for the group of people that were lingering around. He stepped closer.

"I'll show you the way to the Academy." She said, her voice carrying eventhough she was speaking so softly.

"Yamada-san!" A voice called.

Ichigo froze.

"Ahh, already this man newcomers! I hope to see you all in the 5th after you graduate!" A kind voice said, it was filled with warmth and a little humor. The people around him chuckled. Idiot. Ichigo turned slowly. His heart was hammering, throat constricting. His was faintly aware that his hands were shaking helplessly.

This…was him.

There smiling…smiling…stood Aizen Sousuke.

A book held in front of him and speaking to the girl in words Ichigo couldn't understand…couldn't hear. He could only see. Those eyes. This brown hair…shorter than he remembered. This smile…Those lips. This nose. These hands. These collarbones.

This face.

This man.

This MONSTER.

Kill.

Kill.

Kill.

Kill.

Kill.

Kill.

 _Kill._

He. Wanted. To. _Kill._ Him.

His sisters and their innocent laughter, his father's boisterous acts, Urahara's mysterious ways and stupid fan, Yoruichi's smirk, Uruuy's stoicism, Chad's loyalty, Orihime's childishness.

All gone.

All because of him.

All because of him.

All because of _him._

His hands were trembling as he reached out with them, Zangetsus presence a constant warmth on his back. Another rush.

' _Stop.'_ A voice whispered. _'Not yet…not now…Nobody will be helped…if you do this…now…'_

'Why' Ichigo thought back. 'I could kill him. Kill him now where he stands, and everything is over. It will be over. Everybody will be safe.'

' _Even the children?'_ The voice asked.

Ichigo froze.

If he attacked he would be arrested. And he would never be able to go back to them.

' _You…promised…'_

Ichigo balled his hand into a fist…and lowered it slowly.

His eyes lingered on Aizen. He was making another remark, grinning at them before waving and walking away into the other direction.

"-or this interruption. This way please." The woman said. Ichigos hearing finally returning to him, his heartbeat slowing. He couldn't always react like this if he saw Aizen…this would need to be controlled.

Ichigo blinked a few times in surprise as admits the many brick walls and concrete grass seemed to sprout around him, trees and different paths leading from one building to another, those of course looked like generic Seireitei buildings, thought they were flatter. Students, the girls wearing red and boys wearing blue uniforms, were mingling around the campus some smiling at them brightly other sneering into their direction.

They all thought they were from the Rukongai…most of those around him were. It will take a while to get rid of that particular prejudice.

"Please follow me."

The group was lead into a big room, a few banks on either wall for them to sit and wait on.

"Please fill out these form and hand them in as quickly as possible so the entrance tests can begin." The woman informed them, passing a stack of paper and pens around. Ichigo took one and looked down at it.

Name, Age, Date of Birth (if known), Last residing District and so on.

Ichigo gave a little shrug and started filling out the form. The last two questions were the more interesting ones.

[Training in Kido, Hakuda, Zanjutsu or Hoho?] Ignore this question if none of the above apply to you.

Ichigo made a cross at both Zanjutsu and Hoho, he was fairly useful at Hakuda but nowhere near the realms of Yoruichi or Soifon who both were unspoken masters of the art of weaponless fighting. Hoho was one of the things Yoruichi had taught him, he still remembered the endless games of tag they played in order to teach him Shunpo.

Zanjutsu he had Kisuke to thank for, the man had taught him as good as he could in the time given.

[Zanpakuto: Never, sometimes, often in contact] Ichigo frowned at that question and simply wrote down that he already had his Zanpakuto.

Wordlessly he handed his sheet back in. With a sigh he sat down in the corner of the room, overlooking the entire scenery.

A loud crash made him startle. There in the middle of the room on the floor was a man. He was trashing around helplessly and screeching, his hands were covering his face as he continued to scream and convulse. The woman form before was nowhere to be seen. The others around the man had stepped back, creating a wide circle around him.

"Everybody, stay back!" Ichigo yelled, running towards the man. The people made way for him as Ichigo kneeled next to the man.

"Oi! Oi! Can you hear me? What's the matter?" He asked him. His only answer was more trashing.

"You over there and you!" Ichigo yelled, looking at two strong looking men to either of his side. "Get over here and help me hold him down!" The two men looked at each other unsurely.

"Now!" Ichigo gritted out.

They spurred into action, one of them took hold of the man's legs and kept them in a firm lock, the other kneeled down on the man's other side and helped Ichigo pry away his hands from his face. He made a gruesome sight, his eyes were all but gone from their sockets, thin cuts surrounded them on either side, blood was running down his cheeks.

Ichigo frowned. Suddenly he let go of the man and stepped back. The two burly guys were still holding him down and looked at him strangely. Ichigo scoffed before walking back to his place at the wall.

"What are you doing?" A black-haired man asked him, staring at Ichigo wide eyed. "Aren't you going to help him?" She asked.

"Why don't you?" Ichigo asked him back bluntly.

"Oi! What the hell? I thought you were trying to help!" Another one yelled.

"What's there to help?" Ichigo bit back, frowning at all of them. "Check him out yourselves."

Another man slowly shuffled forward, taking Ichigos place.

"Does one of you have bandages or something similar on them?" Ichigo heard him ask around. He rolled his eyes at them.

"Don't bother." He called to them. "He's an illusion."

They all turned and stared at him.

"I thought you'd notice when you'd check him out yourselves, but you didn't." Ichigo said with a shrug. The screams had ceased.

"How did you know?" A voice to his right asked. Ichigo started badly and cursed under his breath. He slowly turned. Hachi. Tessai. Both were standing against the wall. Ichigo gulped.

"How long have you been here?" Ichigo asked them back. Hachi gave a kind smile while Tessai only pushed up his glasses.

"Right from the beginning." Tessai answered. "We were with you. One of us illusioned."

"…And the other?" Ichigo asked confused, he had seen neither of them in the crowd. It dawned on him. "The girl that lead us here." Hachi's smile broadened.

"Now we have answered your question how about you answer ours?" Tessai prompted. "And all of you better listen, since he was the only one that figured it out."

"It…it was the eyes." Ichigo answered nervously. "They were already scared, so either somebody was playing a prank and had put some illusion on their eyes or the entire person was an illusion. I noticed also that he wore the standard Shinigami outfit - nobody else here does. And no other Shinigami has stepped into this room or out of it. The doors remained closed the entire time."

Tessai nodded at him once. "Correct. This has been your first test. We do this to separate those that have already learned the art of observation…form those that haven't. But don't feel bad, there is hardly ever a year where anybody looks through our illusion at all. This has actually been the first time in 5 years anybody has." All eyes settled on Ichigo. Not according to plan, he had wanted to lay as low as he could and had already managed to attract the attention of both Kido Corpse leaders at the same time. What a great start.

"Now the true testing can begin." Hachi said, smiler never faltering. "Why don't you come with us first." He said, turning towards Ichigo. Ichigo sighed almost inaudibly.

The silently led him down a corridor, a door had opened in the wall behind both of the Kido masters, seemingly out of nowhere. The corridor was brightly lit, large windows on either side as they led Ichigo towards a door at the end of it. They opened it and stepped inside. The adjourning room was gigantic, almost as big as Kisukes underground training facility. A group of people had already gathered.

"Ahh, the first one!" A man called, his hair was more grey then it was black and he had a big beared covering the whole lower side of his face, a scar was running down his right eye, vanishing into his beared, as he turned his head, Ichigo could see that half of his ears was missing too.

"Yes, " Tessai answered. "He looked through our illusion."

The man's stare intensified as he looked at Ichigo. "He did…did he?" He mumbled quietly, before standing up straighter.

"My name is Eichiro Tachikaze. I've been the Zanjutsu instructor of this place long before even your grandparents crawled out of their parent's womb. I will be your first tester." He said.

Another man stepped forward, he was wearing an Onmitsukido outfit, his entire face obscured by a facemask and headband.

"I will be your Hakuda Instructor should you manage to get through our testing. The name is Enzo." He said, never once breaking his stance of having his arms crossed behind his back.

A woman stepped forward next, her long black hair was braided back and she had a no-nonesense attitude about her. "Satomi Adachi, I'm the Instructor for Hoho."

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Was his only answer, as he bowed to them once. It was more manners than he had shown anybody in years.

"Let us start with then." Eichiro said, stepping forward. The Onmitsukido member threw him a long wooden sword, Ichigo was handed his by Hachi.

He stood relaxed, not bothering with getting into the beginner's stance. He looked down at the wooden sword in his hand a little unhappily, this was nowhere near what he was used to when wielding Zangetsu.

"I see that you already have your swords, but first it is important to learn the art behind sword fighting. We'll be using wooden swords until you are able to wield real ones without fear of hurting anybody." Eichiro explained, having seen Ichigos look. "Get ready." Eichiro then said and charged.

He was not using Shunpo, was the first thing Ichigo noticed, given the fact that his Instructor couldn't know that he knew Shunpo that made sense. Ichigo saw him charge and lazily lifted his sword before meeting his swing head on. He dodged and swung again, using Shunpo, and using the surprise of his opponent to get behind him in a move that reminded one an aweful lot of Byakuya Kuchiki. He poked his Instructor in the back once. The old man swung around grinning.

"Hahaha! Brilliant, yes just like that!" Their dance continued. His Instructor became more and more volatile the longer their fight continued seemingly upping the stakes again and again to see how far advanced Ichigo was. Ichigo won…again and again. Swordplay was his forte, it was what made him win against Kenpachi, Byakuya and Aizen. Even wielding a wooden fake sword there was no way a mere Instructor was able to win against him. The older man stopped, halting the fight momentarily. He was panting heavily, Ichigos breath had not sped up. The training he spend under high spiritual pressure had done wonders for his stamina. The older man grinned at him brightly.

"You pass!" He said, breath still heavy as he slowly let his sword sink to the floor.

"So which year are you going to place him in?" Adachi asked, looking at Ichigo with a little more…caution…curiosity? It was hard to tell.

"Year?" Eichiro asked. "He's far beyond any years. If he wants he can join the seventh years but even then he'll be bored." He told them, his excitement almost palpable in the air.

"…He…beyond any years?" Adachi asked, staring at Ichigo now.

"Uhm I'll be glad to join your class…I'm still unsure about dual wielding." Ichigo said scratching his neck uncomfortably.

Eichiro seemed to be ecstatic with the news.

"Let us continue with Hakuda." Enzo said, the contours of his lips hardly visible through his mask.

Ichigo sighed and cracked his neck, he handed the sword back to Hachi and took of his Zangetsus, placing them at the wall.

"Ready?" Enzo asked, his stance still the same, with his hands behind his back. Ichigo nodded. Enzo charged. Having seen the fight before he must have decided to go hard on Ichigo right from the beginning, he started with Shunpo a flurry of motion Ichigo blocked and dodged as best as he could. He knew Hakuda wasn't his strength. He wasn't sure on which level they were fighting but he was able to keep up…barely. It continued on. Ichigo had never been more thankful for his stamina than in these moments.

Suddenly Enzo stopped.

"Not as good as Zanjutsu." He said frankly. "Sixth year." He said, stepping back into the group. Ichigo pulled a face. Yes, he knew that.

"Hoho then." Adachi said, stepping forward, apparently having seen that even a Zanjutsu monster had his weaknesses had made her more relaxed.

"Catch me if you can." She suddenly told him, an uncharacteristic smile lighting up her face as she vanished in the next second. Ichigo grinned. That he could do. He caught her withing seconds the first time. Sensing that he could go even faster Satomi sped up too, they continued their game for god knows how long. She was good. Just not as good as Yoruichi. And Yoruichi had made sure he could catch her. The outcome was clear.

"Seventh year." Satomi said, smile still lingering on her face eventhough she had lost. "If you want to." She added inclining her head towards him.

"Sure." He said, grinning at her.

"Well onto Kido!" Hachi said merrily, stepping forward. He seemed to have looked forward to this.

"Uhm…I…I have no idea about Kido…" Ichigo told him, wincing a little. Hachi looked down for a second, before perking up.

"No matter, let us test your Reiatsu levels and place you in with the other first years" Ichigo nodded at him with a smile.

Hachi pulled out a crystal globe. Ichigo stared at it. That was…that was the thing they had used to get into the Seireitei. That stupid thing that had taken him hours to even get the hand of.

"Just place your hands on it and put as much Reiatsu in as you can." Hachi told him.

"As much as I can? I don't need to…I don't know regulate it or something?" He inquired.

Hachi chuckled. "Ohh no, this is just for measurement." He said.

Ichigo shrugged. He walked forward and took the crystal globe from Hachi. Stepping back a few steps he took a breath and let go.

'Crrrcck'

Ichigo stared at the two halves of the ball in his hands. "Uhhm…"

Hachi was staring at him. All of them were staring at him. He winced. "Sorry?"

Hachi seemed to blink himself out of his stupor. "Ahh yes, no worries…It seems you have quite…the amount…of Reiatsu." He told him.

Ichigo winced again.

"Who has trained you before?" Enzo suddenly asked.

"Trained him? I thought he was from the Rukongai!" Eichiro said.

Enzo scoffed at him. "That level of handling and power…he must have to have been trained before. So, who?" He asked, turning back towards Ichigo.

"I didn't." Ichigo answered back firmly. "I mean I picked up a few things…but…you should be aware what the Rukongai is like." Ichigo told him darkly. He drew upon the memory of his sister and friends and he felt terrible for it…like using them, but he needed to look convincible. Needed to look like a man that had seen and survived hell on earth. Like he had.

"Hmm…" Enzo made, turning away and letting the subject drop.

Eichiro approached him with a smile. "Welcome to, Shin'o Academy."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Hello my dears. I apologize that I could not keep my promise of posting this chapter at the beginning of february. Unfortunately rl sometimes gets in the way. For me it was my exams. The whole of January was packed with exams and I simply did not find the time to write this chapter. I apologize for the delay and I promise I will do my best to post on time. The next chapter will be delivered at the beginning of march as planned. Again I am so sorry for the delay and I will do my best to post on time!

Sorry for any typos, I wrote this in the dead of night and my brain was a little mushy.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Ichigo stretched and watched the sun set slowly above the academy barracks. It had been a few days since his acceptance into the Shinigami Academy. Things had been…chaotic. Talks of his powers and appearance had quickly spread through the Seireitei and Ichigo found himself receiving more attention than he was strictly comfortable with.

So much for keeping a low profile.

His introduction into the sixth- and seventh-year classes went as smoothly as one would expect. A lot of sneering and depredatory words hurled or whispered into his direction by people who though he had somehow bought his way into their class, or of course those that called him a 'Rukongai Dog' and didn't want to have anything to do with the likes of him. It hadn't taken these people much longer than two sparring rounds to beat some common sense into them.

He still remembered the day they had all finally decided to leave him alone.

.

.

.

 _Ichigo had stepped outside. Their classes had finished not long ago. Hours spend at a desk speaking about theory had him aching for a spar or fight to get his muscles back into action. The day outside was bright and warm. He had stepped into the sun, a rare smile flickering over his face as he had stretched his shoulders._

" _Oi, Dog! Go back to where you came from!" A voice had yelled at him from across the yard. Ichigo had ignored it at first, not caring for the words hurled at him._

" _Standards must be slipping rather drastically if even dirt is allowed to attend classes now." The voice was a lot nearer now, hissing at him hatefully._

 _Ichigo huffed and turned towards him. Ryunosuke Adachi. A pretty face with high cheekbones and an aristocratic nose, black hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail. He could have been Byakuyas cousin if it weren't for the ugly sneer disfiguring his otherwise handsome face. He was one of the nobles in his class, though as far as Ichigo knew the Adachi family was among the minor noble houses._

 _He couldn't help but wonder how dear little Ryunosuke would react if he knew that Ichigo had Shiba blood running through his very veins. He was rather surprised that the man hadn't recognized the rather striking Shiba features in Ichigo yet, but that could be another indicator on the status of his family. Unfamiliar with the Shibas and their appearance. Eventhough the Shibas, at this point in time, were as influential as the Kuchikis._

 _Ichigo had a hard time not scoffing._

" _What? Got nothing to say? Maybe bark for me once if you can understand me." The man – boy – drawled. Arrogance was oozing from every pore of his body. Ichigos fist itched to lodge itself into that perfectly straight nose of his._

 _Without a word Ichigo had turned around, intent on ignoring the brat and carrying on with his day. Had he still been back in Karakura he would have long ago rammed Ryunosukes face into a concrete wall._

 _But he wasn't. He had to behave. Had to keep a low profile. Or…at least attempt to stay in his teachers good graces in his spot as the resident rising protégée._

 _He felt it long before it came. The sword aimed right at his back. Fluently he sidestepped the sad attempt at an attack. His mouth pulled downwards in a grimace and frown in place, Ichigo stared at the boy. He had attacked him with his back turned. There was no greater shame for any swordsman. There were many things Ichigo could forgive. Cowardice was not one of them. Without a hitch he rushed forward and placed a hand over the one clutching at the sword that had aimed to attack him while he was unaware._

 _His other hand shot forward and delivered a clear punch to Ryunosukes wide pipe. The boy was on his knees in less then a second. The students around them had watched in awe and fear as Ichigo had turned._

" _Always face your opponents." Was all Ichigo had said, scowling at them as he had stalked away._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Now they kept their distance. And more importantly their mouths tightly shut when he was around. Something Ichigo was incredibly thankful for.

Some of his instructors were simply delightful; happy that one of their students showed talent and interest in their class they let him do about anything he wanted – except for Enzo that is. The man kept his eyes on Ichigo at all times, waiting for him to make a mistake he can pounce upon. Starting with his entrance test the man's behavior had only deteriorated.

On top of that Ichigo had been unable to leave the Academy and check on the children – something that kept on nagging him every waking moment.

Which led him into this particular situation.

He bit his lip and looked around. Nobody anywhere to be seen, people were either still in the hall eating their dinner or at the training grounds having a few laughs and spars. Ichigo slowly got up. The small bundle in his hand held tightly. He had never eaten his full dinner, always sneaking some bread or something else away and keeping it wrapped in a small piece of cloth. Intent on sharing the little he had with the children, even if it wasn't much he was sure none of them ever had the chance to taste Candy or Dango before.

He had been planning on sneaking away and checking on them from the first day he arrived at the academy, keeping a look out on the times nobody was around or unaware enough for him to sneak off.

He looked around quickly and made his towards one of the walls surrounding the academy. More symbolic than anything else, these walls weren't truly there to keep them inside, but to show them their boundaries.

Not that Ichigo had ever let those stop him before.

Memories of him jumping up, yelling something about a bathroom and literally running from the classroom assaulted his mind – those times almost seemed a lifetime away, not the few months it had actually been since Ichigo had first met Rukia.

Thinking about his dark-haired Shinigami Friend caused a deep ache in Ichigos chest. A longing for the times they had spent together.

All of them.

Keigo and his antics as he talked about some new television show or games, Mizuiro ignoring him and texting his girlfriend(s), Tatsuki and her boisterous laughter as Chad sat quietly next to her, Orihime eating some strange mixture everybody was horrified at and Rukia quietly tugging at his sleeve and glaring at her juice package that was refusing to be opened by her. It had been peaceful times. Happy times.

A shaky breath escaped Ichigos lungs as he forced his awareness back into the here and now. He swallowed thickly against the lump on his throat. Now wasn't the time for this.

Ichigo took another deep breath and jumped. Landing light-footed on the other side and shunpoing away into the direction of the Rukongai district the children were residing in. He didn't dawdle, going almost full speed as he rushed through the first and second district, grazing the outskirts of the third and not even noticing when he passed the forth.

Dust settled around him as he came to a halt in front of the small cottage they had made into their home. Ichigo slowly walked towards the door and knocked.

"Yes?" The weary answer came from inside.

"It's me!" he called back. And was bowled over by a small canon ball in the next second.

"Ichi-nii!" Hinako had her small arms wrapped around his neck, holding onto him for dear life.

"Ichigo!" He heard Tobi's excited yell before another canon ball landed on top of him. Luckily the other children around were a lot more restrained and waved at him from afar, snickering at his dilemma as he tried his utmost to pry the kids off of him.

"Okay okay, I'm back. Calm down, will you?" He asked them, trying his best to sound stern and keeping the smile and laughter out of his voice – and failing miserably while doing so.

Hinako laughed and took his hand, tugging him inside. Ichigo let himself be pushed and dragged home. Tobi was talking to him excitedly and way too fast for him to keep up, Shuu was also talking to him looking more excited than he ever had while Ichigo had known him.

Shuuhei was standing close by, a grin on his face as he watched the others bombard Ichigo with questions. Mina was much the same. Hana was tugging at his sleeve excitedly, also trying to get a word in.

Yuushi was standing next to Mina, trying his utmost not to laugh. It was chaos. It felt like home. A flash of his friend, all of them on the rooftop of their school and eating lunch passed his mind as he looked at the children and grinned at them. He couldn't change the past, but he could make sure that those kids had a future that was worth holding onto.

"Okay! Hey, I brought you some food and water!" Ichigo called, desperate to get their attention focused anywhere else.

Hinako squealed in delight and hugged him even tighter, Tobis speech grew even faster. Ichigo sighed. It was going to be a long night. The door fell close behind him with a sound of finality.

"So how are the Shinigami treating you?" Yuushi asked him quietly, settling down next to him as the others excitedly talked about the food and candy Ichigo had brought along.

Ichigo smiled and gently ruffled his light brown hair.

"Pretty well, a few noble idiots, the usual sneering and questioning of my heritage but nothing I can't handle." He told him honestly.

The kid had something about him that reminded Ichigo so much of Juushiro it was almost frightening. He had the same relaxed and peaceful aura, happy to protect but unwilling to ever raise his hand against any other living creature. Maybe that was the reason why Ichigo treated him more as an equal than any of the other children – aside from his habit of ruffling their hair, that he did to every single one of them, much to their dismay.

Yuushi tried to flatten his tousled hair while keeping a dignified aura, Ichigo laughed at him softly, which earned him a rather uncharacteristical glare.

"I won't be able to stay much longer unfortunately." Ichigo then said, giving Yuushi a apologetic little smile.

"Ehhh?! You're leaving alredy?" Hinako asked, having overheard his last statement. The other kids also looked at him with large eyes, all of them hoping for him to stay longer.

Ichigo sighed. He was doing that rather often nowadays; not that it was unwarranted.

"Yes, I have to go back…technically I didn't ask for permission to leave…" He told them, scratching his neck in embarrassment.

"You snuck away?" Tobi asked, a large grin on his face.

Ichigo raised his eyebrow at him. "Yes, but I had good reason to. I really wonder how you lot came by without anybody around." He added, looking more amused than annoyed as the children shifted a little in embarrassment, blushes forming on their faces.

"But since I left without permission, I'll have to sneak back inside, most of the other Shinigami should be eating or training still so I might be able to slip back inside when it's time for them to head to their barracks." He told them, talking to himself more than he did to the children as he elaborated his plan. Hinako stepped forward, looking at him with her large innocent eyes.

"The Shinigami won't hurt you if they catch you, will they?" She asked him, tears already welling up.

"Ohh no, no. None of that now, Hina-chan. They won't hurt me, just make me work off some punishment or give me detention or something similar." He quickly shushed her, placing a large warm hand on her shoulder. Hinako nodded, a wobbly smile forming on her lips as Ichigos had slipped from her shoulder to her head and ruffled her hair affectionately.

Ichigo got up slowly, looking at the children. "I will be back soon, and I will bring more food and water along, okay? If I don't get back here in a month… then make your way to the Seireitei. Travel only by light if you do and ask for Eishima or Muguruma-taichou. You met both of them, I'm sure you remember. But I will be back. I promise. Until then: Don't go anywhere alone, don't talk to strangers, don't draw attention to yourselves and for god's sake please stay safe until I come back here, okay?" He asked them.

They all nodded, looking a little confused at the tirade of rules Ichigo listed to them.

"Just trying to keep you guys out of harms way." He told them gently. "You're all I have left…" He added in a whisper, too quiet for any of the children to hear.

"We'll stay out of trouble! Pinky promise!" Tobi told him, grinning brightly.

"Yes!" Hinako nodded her consent while Shuu and Mina also nodded and gave him a rare smile.

"Good." Ichigo said. "I have to go. But I will be back soon. It didn't take me much longer than a week to return here, but I will come at different times, so I won't draw attention. So, expect me in two weeks at the latest." They all nodded. Ichigo smirked at them.

"See you!" He yelled over his shoulder as he vanished in a burst of Shunpo before any of them could attach themselves to him once again – one time was more than enough!

He reached the walls surrounding Seireitei faster than he had expected, thoughts drifting back to the children while he shunpoed through the night. He quietly reached out and twisted his hand along one of the walls.

A hole opened up in front of him.

He really loved his fathers' side of the family sometimes. The Shibas had always had a few Shinigami in their family, being one of the Nobel four. Which led one of his ancestors to installing this small sneak away hole in the wall.

After all, a wall was never something that could stop a Shiba. His father would have surely told him about it, were he still alive. Which he technically was…time travel was confusing. Ichigo shook his head to clear his thoughts.

As it was, it had been Senjumaru who had told him while making his clothes. Ichigo was surprised he still remembered anything she said, given the borderline traumatic experience it had been. Apparently, she had known the ancestor who had made the get-away personally and had told Ichigo this nitpick of information in hopes it could help him on his quest.

He smiled as he slipped through the wall with ease and landed inside. He quickly looked around the darkened streets and made his way towards the academy.

"What's this?" A voice to his right suddenly called. Ichigo came to a screeching halt, he clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Not good.

"What are you doing out here this late?" The voice continued. Why hadn't he noticed them before? How were they able to slip by undetected? Ichigo had made sure the area was clear before stepping through…and yet…! Silently, Ichigo continued to berate himself. He slowly turned around. His eyes widened as he took in the people standing in front of him.

Shunsui Kyoraku.

Juushiro Ukitake.

He only blinked at them owlishly for a second, incapable of finding any words.

"Which division do you belong to?" Juushiro asked, not unkindly. "I don't think you are one of mine." He added, tilting his head. Ichigo was suddenly very glad it was this dark, or Juushiros reaction to seeing a carbon copy of his Lieutenant might have been very different.

"Not one of mine either, as far as I can tell." Shunsui added. "So which one?"

"Uhm…." Ichigo mumbled intelligently, not knowing how to answer. He couldn't. If he told them some random number, they might actually investigate and notice that he had lied.

"No way!" Shunsui suddenly said. Fearing the dark wasn't enough to make him look differently from Kaien Ichigo shrunk into himself slightly. "An academy student?" He asked. Ichigo couldn't tell which emotion was coloring his words, keeping his head down as he awaited his judgement.

The laughter came unexpected.

"Seems like yesterday when the two of us would sneak out to go drinking, doesn't it Juu-chan?" He asked, gasping for breath as he held onto Juushiros shoulder for support.

Juushiro smiled at his friend mirthfully. "You mean, when you snuck out to get drunk and pester girls and dragged me along." He said, not sounding like he had minded the times at all. Shunsui chuckled.

"So, an academy student sneaking away…hmm…what to do? Juu-chan what should we do?" He asked Juushiro, turning towards him.

"Hmmm…I don't know Shunsui, we should probably hand him to his teachers." He sounded amused.

Ichigo winced at the remark about his teachers but also couldn't shake the impression that he was being played. Thoroughly.

"Yes, we probably should." Shunsui said, nodding along importantly. "That's what responsible people do, isn't it?" He added, directing the question once again towards Juushiro.

"Indeed, it is." Juushiro said, nodding too.

"Well, thank god then!" Shunsui laughed loudly. He walked towards Ichigo and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Ichigo had tensed the very moment Shunsui had twitched a muscle into his direction. He was holding still now, very still as he kept one eye on the hand and the other on the two people in front of him.

"No need to be so tense." Shunsui told him jokingly, though there was something else in his voice…something darker. Was he surprised maybe at Ichigo suspicion? At his reaction to Shunsuis touch? Or was it something else entirely?

"We won't tell anyone." Juushiro said, intervening whatever was happening between Ichigo and Shunsui.

"Juu-chan!" Shunsui whined, dropping his hand in the process and turning towards his friend. "Why did you stop our fun this soon?" Juushiro raised his eyebrows and gave him a look.

"It isn't very nice to torture Students." He said lightly. "Speaking of which. What is your name?" He asked Ichigo.

If they had wanted to rat him out they could simply drag him to the academy, asking for him name to tell one of his teachers later on wouldn't have the same effect as dragging him in red handed. With that thought in mind and remembering the two people he had met in his past Ichigo opened his mouth.

"Ichigo." He said, voice stronger than he had expected.

"Strawberry?" Shunsui asked immediately, a grin on his face that was big enough to be blazing through the night.

"No." Ichigo found himself saying. "First protector."

Juushiro smiled at him. "A good name." He said quietly.

"Well then, First Protector. Since you are out and about already how about joining two old men for a drink, eh?" Shunsui asked, light teasing in his voice.

Ichigos thoughts were running a mile a minute. Drinking would lead them into a bar, which would lead him into the light, which could make Juushiro have a light heart attack at his appearance. Before he could come up with a suitable excuse however, Juushiro had already opened his mouth.

"Bad idea, Shunsui. He doesn't want to get caught now. I believe we might have caught him on his way back into the academy?" The question was directed at Ichigo.

Ichigo nodded quickly, his heart still beating a little faster in his chest. Close call. Very close call. He knew they would see his face and ask questions eventually, but he would prefer to have more time to come up with a good cover story before any such event might take place. He never was any good at improvising. Or lying. Sometimes he really wished he could imitate Kisukes shady charisma. It would make his life undeniably easier right now.

Shunsui heaved a sigh in defeat at Juushiros words. "So, tell us. If we're already covering for you. What are you doing outside roaming the streets this late? Visiting your girlfriend?" He asked, grin stretching with every word he spoke.

Ichigo licked his lips. He needed to fine balance. Between the truths and the lies he spoke, and between the 'when' and 'where' his lies would be needed. This situation was delicate to say the least. If he lied and the lie was detected, which it would most likely be, he would be in trouble. Yet he did not know if speaking the truth would be the best option either. His silence stretched. Too long. He was dwelling too long. They would grow more suspicious with each moment he stayed silent.

His heart was hammering in his chest, Adams apple bobbing as he swallowed thickly against the growing nervousness that settled into his throat and stomach and threatened to turn into a full-fledged panic attack at any moment.

He needed to speak. Now.

A gentle warmth filled him even as he grew more panicky by the second.

It felt like…A nudge in the right direction.

It was light. Like an embrace but more…intimate. Like a conversation with Zangetsu, educational and caring. A parent. Or sibling. A gentle hand on his shoulder.

And it seemed to whisper. Like it had when he had encountered Aizen on his first day in Seireitei. Calming and sure.

' _Speak the truth…'_ It seemed to mumbled into his ear.

It wasn't…speech…not any form of speech a living being would be capable of. More like a feeling and knowledge that shoved all other thoughts form his head and settled in the forefront of his mind. Non-threatening. But helpful.

Ichigo drew a breath and opened his mouth.

"I…I have…wards…you could say." Ichigo said hesitantly, unsure as to what he was supposed to call the group of children he had taken under his wing. "I met them…out….in one of the outer Rukongai districts…They are just children…I don't know how long they had been living out there by themselves; but I couldn't leave them there. I…I was one the journey to the academy when I met them and offered to take them along to one of the saver districts. I promised I would visit as soon as I could, but they wouldn't give us permission…I couldn't stay away much longer. Some of them have Reiatsu. So, I took some of my food and saved it to bring it to them, had I waited any longer it would have gone bad before I would have been given permission to see them." During his small speech his voice had grown from unsure and solemn, to stronger and surer. He had done the right thing. If they decided that punishment was in order for that. So be it.

"…I wasn't expecting that." Shunsui spoke first, a small chuckle in his voice. "Very different to what Juu-chan and I did when we snuck away and much more warranted too."

Juushiro spoke next. "Are the children alright?" He asked, concern in his voice eventhough he had never met them. Ichigo laughed quietly. He should have known that this would be his first question.

"Better than fine…those little monsters hardly let me up to get some air when I arrived." He said.

Juushiro chuckled with him. "If you don't mind I could come along the next time you go and visit them, that way they have somebody else to look for should something ever happen to you." Juushiro suddenly offered.

Ichigo blinked at him in surprise. "You…you've never met me." He pointed out, wincing as he realized how rude he was sounding.

Juushiro cleared his voice. "Yes…but I think you could use the help."

"…If you are sure. But I already told them to go looking for Eishima from the ninth or for Ken-Muguruma-taichou should I not visit in an entire month." Ichigo said.

"Ohh? You know Kensei-san's squad members?" Juushiro asked.

"Uhm well kind of…we fought together in the Rukongai when a few hollows showed up while I was travelling with the children.

"I see…" Juushiro mumbled thoughtfully.

Shunsui had stayed quiet through all of it. Finally, he broke his silence.

"A first year fighting off hollows?" He asked, sounding politely skeptical.

Ichigo couldn't blame him. Since Ichibe had shown him how to suppress his Reiatsu to a mere flicker; he didn't seem much stronger than any other average first year.

Of course, his instructors and the other students knew that he was stronger than he appeared, but anybody outside of the academy had no idea. Ichigo let some of his Reiatsu loose slowly, letting it build and build and build. Easily matching the power level displayed by both Shunsui and Juushiro.

"So not a first year." Shunsui remarked dryly. Ichigo chuckled.

"I was placed in sixth- and seventh-year classes." He said softly.

"Another protegée." Juushiro piped up, excitedly.

"I wouldn't go that far." Ichigo said, pulling a face at the title.

"Join my division when you graduate!" Juushiro said, heatedness entering his voice.

"Uhhm…." Ichigo mumbled. "…You just met me." He echoed once again.

"Doesn't matter! The protégées always get whisked away by the other divisions! I haven't had one since Kaien joined my squad." Ichigo got the distinct impression that Juushiro was pouting.

Shunsui chuckled. "Let the kid decide that himself Juu-chan. If he joins, he joins. If he doesn't you still get to spoil some children rotten, should he decide to introduce you to them."

Juushiro seemed to perk up at that.

Ichigo would never understand either of them, though their antics were quite amusing to say the least.

"Which he will, I'm sure." Shunsui prompted, turning towards Ichigo with a raised eyebrow. Ichigo sighed.

"Sure." He mumbled a little defeatedly.

There was no point arguing with them over banalities. And it would secure the children even more. The only down turn was that Ichigo would have to come up with a story regarding his looks. And fast. If he knew Juushiro at all the man would probably appear at his doorstep tomorrow, pockets overflowing with sweets and downright demand to be taken to his…wards.

A few months back he would have laughed in the face of any person that had told him he would be in charge of taking care of a couple of children that weren't Yuzu or Karin. A sharp jab of pain went through his heart at the reminder of his sisters. He quickly shut down his thoughts and turned back towards the two men in front of him.

Juushiro had a wide smile on his face, eyes filled with a sparkle that would have had Ichigo slightly concerned for the children's safety if he wasn't already acquainted with Juushiro's character. Shunsui seemed to be amused by his friends happiness.

"Thank you, Ichigo-kun!" He chirped happily.

Ichigo waved him away with one hand. "No problem."

"Well, better sneak back in now. They teachers will soon start their rounds of the barracks if I'm not mistaken and their habits haven't changed in the last couple of hundreds of years." Shunsui said, grinning at him.

Ichigo cursed under his breath and quickly turned on his heels.

"Ohh yeah, thanks for covering for me!" He quickly yelled over his shoulder before vanishing from sight.

"Nice kid." Juushiro chirped, still happy from the prospect of getting to gift some sweets to children he hadn't had the chance of meeting before.

Shunsui gave a sharp smile, intelligent gaze looking into the direction Ichigo had vanished into. "He sure seems like it." Was all he mumbled.

.

.

.

Another curse flew from Ichigos lips as he balanced on the ladder and reached out to the very corner of one of the tall windows in front of him.

He had been caught.

Unsurprisingly.

By the time Juushiro and Shunsui had let him go from their clutches the teachers were already making their rounds. Everything would have gone as planned…if Ichigo hadn't slipped and crashed into the academy grounds rather ungracefully.

And of course, Enzo had to be the one to find him. The man had interrogated Ichigo for an hour before Ichigo had been freed by some of his other instructors. Ichigo hadn't given an inch. He refused to tell them the reason as to why he had left the grounds. And while they were reluctant to do so his instructors had seen no other way than to put him on cleaning duty.

Which led him to balancing on a ladder, cleaning windows in the cafeteria while the other students were long since finished with their classes and homework.

Degrading.

Ichigo would have loved to just quit everything and walk out right then and there. But it wasn't in his nature to quit. So, he endured the insulting words hurled into his direction as his classmates and upper classmen made fun of his plight. The Rukongai dog finally doing work that was befitting of his status.

Ichigo swallowed it all down. He could take it. He had heard worse. So much worse before.

.

.

.

Luckily his teachers were rather forgiving of his mistake. Well, everybody but Enzo. The man had only grown worse. Questioning Ichigos every move and action. Keeping track of his every step. It was rather vexing. But there was nothing he could do. Nothing he could say to stop it.

A sigh escaped Ichigo as he laid back on his bed. It was becoming rather taxing. Running around and hiding. Pretending to ignore the stares and whisperes directed at him. Not that he wasn't accustomed to it.

A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts. With a frown he got up and slid the door open.

"Hello." Juushrio said, grey eyes settling on Ichigo.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Back with another chapter! Hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

„…Ukitake-taichou." Ichigo greeted back.

But the other didn't react. He was staring at Ichigo as if he had seen a ghost, which was rather ironical given their place and time. His already pale complexion grew only paler the longer he kept looking.

"…You…Who are you?" The white-haired man finally asked in a whisper.

"…We…met? I'm Ichigo." He was swallowing past the lump in his throat, forcing himself to react in a way that wouldn't be too revealing. Play dumb, play dumb.

"You…look a lot like my lieutenant. Kaien. Kaien Shiba." Juushiro elaborated. He took a measured step forward into Ichigos room.

"Huh? Shiba? Aren't those one of the noble houses?" Ichigo asked, keeping his voice tinted in confusion.

"Yes…they are. And all Shibas share the same traits. A father and son will always look alike." Juushiro answered him. "How is it that you look like one of them?" Juushiro asked. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion. A dangerously intelligent gleam in his eyes that told Ichigo that the man in front of him was capable of so much more than he let on.

He swallowed. "I have no idea." He said. It sounded weak even to his own ears.

"No idea, huh?" Juushiro pursed his lips. "I thought your reaction was strange before…Stumbling into us on the streets. Two Captains. And don't pretend you didn't recognize us. You have just addressed me as 'Ukitake-taichou'. I thought it was strange that an Academy student, one attending his final years was not aware of who it was he was speaking to. Or maybe you didn't care. I could have believed that." Juushiro was taking another measured step forward. Ichigo stepped back into his room, trying to create more space between them.

Swiftly Juushiro stepped inside and closed the door behind himself.

Never taking his eyes off Ichigo.

"I thought you were interesting. Sneaking out like that, it reminded me of myself and Shunsui. Then your attitude towards us. Slightly nervous at first. Yes, you were nervous. When you told us your reason for escaping the Academy. And yet…your reason was good. It was just. And I was reminded once again of Shunsui and myself. And now…now you look like my lieutenant. Like you could be his twin. So, answer me: Who are you?"

Ichigo had never expected it.

Never expected the ferocity and power that was rolling off Juushiro at that moment.

The undercurrent of the Soul King residing in his body, seemed to be burning underneath his skin. Only enchanted by the intrinsic power Juushiro held himself. There was nothing Ichigo could do but stare at the sheer power displayed to him.

Then it happened.

A bright flash.

Warmth and sound and a sensation like floating.

It couldn't have been more than a second or two, but it left Ichigo dizzy and blinking heavily as he tried to adjust to the light in his room. Juushiro was standing in front of him still. But the ferocity in his gaze was gone. He only stared at Ichigo wide-eyed.

"… _The Kings seal_." He whispered then, eyes still trained on Ichigo.

"Huh?" Was all Ichigo could manage.

"You…you are wearing the Soul Kings seal." Juushiro whispered. "…Like I do."

"…What?" Ichigo asked, confusion coloring his every word.

Juushiro raised his hand and tapped his own chest nodding towards Ichigo. Ichigo looked down at himself and…stared. He was unsure of what it was he was looking at. There on his chest…sat an _eye_. It looked like it had been painted with a brush and black ink. Tendons of black wrapping themselves around his ribs and upper body. The air in Ichigos lungs constricted for a second.

" _What?_ " He asked once again,, disbelive and shock coloring his voice.

"…You…were unaware of this?" Juushiro asked him, his voice no more than a hushed whisper. "Have you never felt… _him_?" He asked softly.

Ichigo was looking up. Staring at Juushiro. 'Felt… _him_.' He had. Felt. Reassurance and warmth and protection. His voice…his whisper that kept him sane and safe.

"…That was him?" Ichigo asked, his voice hoarse and thick with emotion. It almost didn't sound like his own, it sounded far away, buried beneath oceans as it registered in his own mind slowly.

"Yes…" Juushiro answered. He swallowed and shook his head. "I would have never expected to meet another one like me…You are aware of the price of wearing his seal…Are you not?" Juushiro asked him then.

Ichigo shook his head.

"He…is with you. Always. He will guide you and help you. But in return you will have to fulfill the duty he has bestowed upon you." Juushiro said.

Ichigo licked his lips.

The duty bestowed upon him.

 **If you had the chance to change it all…Would you do it Kurosaki Ichigo?**

He had never had a choice.

"…Who are you?"

Ichigo had no answer.

"I…I can't tell you." He finally said.

Juushiro nodded. "Because he commands you not to." He said, as if it was that easy.

Ichigo only nodded in answer.

Because what else was he to say? How could he possibly explain…everything?

He swallowed thickly.

His teeth were clenching as he stared at the seal. That utter…bastard. He could have at the very least warned Ichigo. He could have told him…told him about all of…this.

'…I apologize…' A voice – _the_ _voice_ whispered to him. It was as airy as before, more like a thought entering his mind than a verbal response reverberating through his mind.

'Why?' Ichigo thought back.

'…I will explain…later…concentrate on the other…bearer.'

"I will not ask you about this again…If _he_ has sent you, it is my duty as another bearer not to stand in your way." Juushiro said, eventhough his mouth was slightly downturned. "Having said that, I still have to caution you. I will hardly be the only one noticing the resemblance between you and my lieutenant. You will have to come up with a cover story."

"…Do the Shibas have any history of illegitimate children?" Ichigo asked after a second, having mulled over Juushiros words.

Juushiro looked momentarily amused. "Not that I would be aware of. No."

Ichigo pulled a face. "Would it be far fetched to simply say that I come from the Rukongai and do not know of any relations to the Shibas?" He questioned.

Juushiro tilted his head slightly. "…It would be possible. Depending on how good of an actor you are…and no offense but you seem to be severely lacking in the art of masking your facial expressions."

Ichigo winced. Yes, another thing he would have to improve in. And quickly.

Juushiro sighed. "…I do know that a couple of Generations ago one of the Shibas went missing. It was assumed that he had died on a mission in the Rukongai. You could say that you are a descendant of this particular Shiba who fell in love with a woman in the Rukongai."

Ichigo nodded slowly. It was close enough to the story of his actual up-bringing that he should be able to pull it off. "Do you know the name of that Shiba?"

Juushiros brows furrowed. "It…it has been several years but I believe his name was 'Hayato'. I can check up on it later and let you know. Maybe I can find some facts about him that would help you sell your story. In case the Shibas actually do contact you."

Ichigo nodded at him. "Yes…thank you, that would be enormously helpful."

It was astounding how quickly this situation had turned about. Maybe being the bearer of the Kings Seal wasn't all that bad. Ichigo glanced down once again. The eye was still sitting proudly and rather obviously in the middle of his chest.

"Uhh…Is this ever going to vanish again?" Ichigo asked, looking up at Juushiro. The older man looked at him pityingly.

"You will have to learn how to control it. As it is, only those that bear the Soul Kings mark are able to see it. That would reduce the number of people to you and me." Juushiro answered.

"Th-There are only two of us?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

A small smile played around Juushiros lips now. "Not a lot of people get to…experience _what_ it truly is that is residing over all of us. I believe the number of people to wear his Seal over the last 1000 years can be counted on one hand. Then again, I had also believed to be the only current bearer. But as it seems like I was wrong about that assumption. I could be wrong about this too."

"…Do you know…What exactly he is?" Ichigo asked him in a whisper.

Juushiro slowly shook his head. "Nobody knows that for sure…we, the bearers of his Seal are the closest to understanding his nature…but…he simply defiles all explanations. He has no explanation. The longer you interact with him the clearer your sight of him will become. Currently…you get feelings, correct? Maybe even a whisper in your mind?"

Ichigo swallowed heavily. "Yes." He rasped out. "He…whispers to me…sometimes…And I get these…these feelings of…knowledge or an inclination to do something…"

Juushiro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It started like this for me too. His voice will grow louder over time. Your seal is relatively fresh, I can tell. It will take him time to get accustomed to your body, which is probably why you can't converse with him entirely. There is of course also the option that he simply does not wish to speak with you. He can be rather…difficult for a being of his age and power. Vague and indifferent if he wants to be. He'll much rather give you an – what did you all it? – ' _inclination_ ' to do something than to explain to you why to do so." Juushiro was huffing now.

Ichigos eyebrows were slowly rising. Apparently having God with you at all times was a lot more taxing than it seemed.

"He sounds…" Ichigo started, not entirely sure how he was planning on ending that sentence, luckily, he didn't have to.

"-exhausting." Juushiro finished for him. A wry smile worked its way on his lips. "But you get used to it. Just always keep the line between you and him steady. Don't let it blur or blend…don't get lost in him."

"…get lost in him?" Ichigo questioned, brows furrowing.

Juushiro sighed once again. "I can't really explain it…you will know what I mean should the time ever arise…that's all I can say."

Ichigo huffed a little but gave up…for the moment.

"…So what now?" He asked then, looking at Juushiro rather uncertainly.

Juushiro took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Now we go on as always. Not many people are aware that I am bearing the Soul Kings Seal – I would recommend you keep this a secret from as many people as possible. Only trust those closest to you with this knowledge. There are always people out there that would love to use the power of a bearer to get to the Soul King. And before you ask: yes, that is a possibility. We…are like the Kings Key. We can be used to open the passage way leading to the Soul Kings Palace. But it costs a heavy Price..."

Ichigos head was spinning by now. Too much information in too short an amount of time. "Price?" He asked.

Juushiro lookeda t him sombrely. "Our life."

Ichigo swallowed and nodded.

"So…you won't tell anybody?" He asked then.

"Indeed, I will not. However, I ask to share this information with Kyoraku Shunsui. I can only vouch for him as it is…but he is a good person and would never spread this information any farther." Juushiro said, catching Ichigos gaze and giving him an almost pleading look.

Ichigo shrugged with one shoulder and nodded. "Yeah…sure tell him…just don't…don't tell anybody else…please. I'm still struggling even understanding half of what you have told me…"

Juushiro grinned at him ruefully. "Yes, it can be rather a lot to take in."

Silence settled between them. The awkwardness grew with every second that ticked by. Ichigo had no idea what to say. Juushiro cleared his throat after another agonizing second had ticked by.

"I had initially come to ask you about the children…" He said, a small smile was playing around his lips now.

Ichigo grinned at him, equal parts thankful to him for having broken the silence between them and amused by the reason for his visit.

"What did you want to ask?"

"Uhm well…take me to them?" Juushiro gave him a bright smile as he posed the question.

Ichigo huffed a laugh in response. "Sure yeah…you…don't have any problem with smuggling some food and water along, do you?"

Juushrios grin only stretched. "Already taken care of!" He chirped cheerfully.

Ichigo raised one questioning eyebrow. Juushiro waved him outside. Cautiously Ichigo stepped out of him room only to see 10 bags stuffed with food and water parked right in front of his room.

"…How did you get all of this here?"

Juushrio laughed. "I might have gone a little overboard…"

"A little?!"

They spent the remained of the afternoon moving large packages of food to the children's cottage.

All of them had been rather intimidated by Juushiro at first – well all but Tobi. But the other also warmed up to Juushiro rather quickly. His friendly demeanor wrapping them around his little finger easily.

"I swear they like you better than me already." Ichigo had huffed at him as they had made their way back to the Seireitei. The apologizing look Juushiro had sent him hadn't been convincing in the slightest.

.

.

.

Had it been any other day Ichigo would have already fallen asleep. The classes he had to visit were interesting – in some cases. But the ones he was already sufficient in just bored him to no end. Sometimes his teachers would spar with him, helping him develop his ability to wield two Zanpakuto at the same time but as none of them were dual wielders themselves it showed itself to be quite unhelpful.

Juushiro had rejected his plea for help with a pitying look. Being a captain and bedridden for most of the time had unfortunately prevented him from taking Ichigo under his wing – even if he had been delighted by the knowledge that there now was another dual wielder among them.

That is how Ichigo had turned to Kyoraku Shunsui. The only other dual wielder in the whole of Seireitei. One of the oldest Captains. And one of the two prodigies taken under his wing by the Soutaichou himself.

"Another dual wielder?" Kyoraku had asked in surprise as Juushiro had dragged Ichigo along with him to his oldest friend.

Luckily Juushrio had already told Kyoraku about Ichigos uncanny resemblance of his lieutenant so Ichigo was spared the grilling questions by the other man.

"So, you want some tutelage, do you?" Kyoraku had asked him, a shark-like grin already forming on his lips.

The dread Ichigo had felt had been unlike anything else he had ever felt before.

Which led him to this moment. Dreading the time his lessons were over and his training under Shunsui would begin.

"Punctual." Kyoraku noted as Ichigo stepped onto the 8th division training grounds. Ichigo only nodded.

"We'll have to change that." Kyoraku added rather cheerfully.

Ichigo sweatdropped. "…Are you trying to turn me into a worse person?"

"Pish-posh of course not! Just poking the rebellious spirit!" Kyoraku waved joyfully.

A sigh was all Ichigo could manage. He could already tell that his day was only going to become longer.

"So…What will you have me do?" Ichigo asked.

"Hmmm…to start with I think we should have a spar. I need to check after all, how well progressed you are in handling your swords. We'll come up with a plan after that. I can promise you one thing though…by the time we are done you will hate my guts." The smile he send Ichigo while saying this managed to fill Ichigo with an imminent sense of dread.

Had he known the hellish hours that were to come he would have run away right at that moment.

Shunsui didn't go easy on him. His fighting style was almost lazy, yet precise. He would take a swing at you as if he was batting away a fly but the power behind his every movement was undeniable.

There was a reason he was one of the oldest captains. Seeing the track record of the Soul Society one had to wonder how many crisis situations Kyoraku had already been through; how many wars he had already taken part in…how many people he had already killed.

"Well, not bad…but definitely needs to be improved. Those swords of yours aren't axes you know, with the way you keep hacking at me one would suspect you don't actually like me ~!" Kyoraku declared rather happily.

Ichigo only managed to glare up at him from his position on the floor. He was panting and sweating profusely, not even capable of forming any words he settled for more dirty glares into Kyorakus direction.

"Aww, don't look at me like that. I did warn you beforehand. That's more than either me or Juushiro got while Yama-jii was training us."

Finally having gotten some of his breath back Ichigo was able to pant out a few words. "…You…went…through…the same…'training'?" He asked.

Kyoraku chuckled. "Ahh we went through something that can only be called hell…" The look on his face could only be described as 'traumatized'.

Ichigo swore to himself right in that moment that he would never ever spar or train under the Soutaichous tutelage.

Kyoraku bend down and offered his hand to Ichigo, hauling him up and off the floor. "Same time tomorrow. Your real training will start then."

Ichigo pulled a face and nodded. But he knew that he had nothing to complain about. Kisuke and the zero Division had done well with the limited time they had been given, but real training with no time limits…that's what he needed. He would have to figure out how to get more instructions in Kido too. Maybe he could find Hachi and have him be his instructor. The man already knew him and had been rather impressed with his powers when they had first met.

Yoruichi would be a good sparring partner too. With Juushiro taking charge of the children for the most part he could concentrate on improving his powers. Aizen was another project he had not yet been able to investigate.

There was also Kisuke…if the man had already begun with his research of the Hogyoku there was a high chance that Aizen already had caught wind about it and was busy collecting Rukongai Souls to fed it to his creation. Which would mean that Ichimaru Gin…was also on the loose.

His lips pulled down in determination as the beginnings of a plan took hold in his mind.

He needed…allies.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Back with another chapter! I hope you enjoy this one too! I also added a new character (and one of my personal favorites) Anyway let me know what you think and thank you for your interest in this story. :)

Ohh yeah before I forget: Kemushi is the Japanese word for caterpillar (just so you know); Higanbana is the japanese word for red spider lily.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

* * *

"…So?"

"So?"

„What are you doing here? For that matter…who are you?" The silver-haired boy asked somewhat exasperated.

"Huh? I already introduced myself the second I sat down, weren't you listening?"

The other only huffed. "Obviously not. Now could you repeat what you said?"

"Yeah sure. I'm Ichigo. Who're you?"

"None of your business."

"Well then, none of your business. It's nice to meet you." Ichigo answered dryly.

"Could you leave?"

"No."

"Can you at least tell me why you have decided to make me your victim?"

"Because…it looked like you were lonely." Ichigo answered.

"I'm not. Can you leave now?"

"You're sitting here all by yourself, the other students avoid you like the plague and you are trying to tell me you're not lonely?" Ichigo asked, his eyebrows climbing higher as he looked at the kid in front of him.

Ichimaru Gin sighed in exasperation. It seemed like his peaceful time by himself had come to an abrupt halt. The orange haired man in front of him had come over and sat down at his table with a wave, a quick introduction and a smile way too big for Gin's liking.

"Soooo…what's your name?" Ichigo tried again.

"…Gin."

"Nice to meet you, Gin!"

"…I'm not going to say the same to you, you know?"

"Ohh I had already guessed. Unfriendly much, aren't you? Is that the reason everybody keeps away?"

Gin snorted. "They know better than to approach me."

"Ohh really? So, if I stick around you they will probably stop being the insufferable idiots they are! Good to know!" Ichigo perked up.

"Could you not?" With a shake of his head the other went back to his food, intent on ignoring the boisterous man in front of him.

Kurosaki Ichigo.

Prodigy.

Has his Zanpakuto and joined the higher classes in some areas.

Gin had had little to do with him up until that point, he had joined the Academy not long ago and had yet to prove his true strength. He wanted to test the water, so to say, before letting himself getting stuck into the higher classes and possibly gaining more attention than he wanted. Being as young as he was, he already got a few funny looks from those around him. Him being from the Rukongai didn't help there.

Now that he thought about it…Kurosaki also was from the Rukongai. At least that is what he tells everybody. Though why nobody had yet to notice his resemblance to the Shibas was for Gin to guess – not as if he thought any of them were intelligent enough to actually notice something like that.

"…Who are you?" Gin interrupted Ichigo, who had been speaking about his classes unbothered by the other never even given the inclination of listening.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. Going to sixth- and seventh-year classes."

"But who are you really? You look a lot like those Shiba Clan people." Gin said, throwing caution to the wind. His curiosity had been spiked.

"…I don't really know myself…I've heard from a few people that one of the Shibas went missing a couple of decades ago. Hayato or something was his name…maybe I'm a relative of that guy but nobody ever knew who I was or where I came from. I was found in some alley by an old lady – she was kind enough to take care of me until I could do so myself." Ichigo said.

He had put everything into his acting abilities…luckily Juushiro had helped him come up with a cover story for his past. Playing dumb was one of the things Ichigo thought he was able to do so that's what they went with.

"I…see." Gin nodded slowly. It seemed like Ichigo knew little to nothing about himself. Not uncommon from those of them that came from the Rukongai.

"Oh shit!" The exclamation made Gin startle. "I'm running late for some of my other lessons!"

"Other lessons?" Gin asked despite himself.

"Uhh yeah…uhm Kyoraku-taichou is teaching me how to use those." Ichigo made a gestured towards his dual Zanpakuto. "My other instructors don't really have the time to and since they all have a single blade they can't teach me everything." He explained.

"Y-you get instructions by Kyoraku-taichou?! _The_ Kyoraku-taichou?" Gin asked, his iridescence blue eyes open for once and staring at him with shock.

"Uhh yeah…Do you wanna join in? It's hell I swear, but Kyoraku is a really good teacher. Maybe he'll take you in too." Ichigo offered, looking at Gin earnestly.

"Huh?! Me? I'm just a first year!" Gin exclaimed.

Ichigo snorted. "Me and you both know you are much more than that. Well…if you ever want to stop hiding, just come to me. You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know?" With those words and another wave Ichigo hastily left the Cafeteria behind. He was running late as it was.

Kyoraku wouldn't go easy on him.

.

.

.

"My, my. Late aren't we?" The smile accompanying those words would haunt Ichigos nightmares for weeks after.

"I think we should start with a quick warm up spar, don't you? Just so that you remember to respect your elders." Kyoraku then said, already pulling out his Zanpakuto in one fluid motion.

"Better hurry and draw your sword, Ichigo! I won't be going easy on you today!"

Then he charged.

A flurry of movement and the sound of steel meeting steel, sparks flew around them as they dodged and attacked with all they had. Kyoraku really wasn't going easy on him. The man had drawn his other sword too and was currently raining down an avalanche of attacks on Ichigo. All the orange-haired teen could do was block blow after blow delivered to him.

This continued for so long Ichigo was sure he was about to die and actually enter heaven. He had no idea what demon had possessed him when he had decided to ask Kyoraku to be his teacher, but he regretted the decision more than anything else.

.

.

.

Well it could have gone worse, Ichigo thought as he laid in bed that night. His body was aching all over from Kyorakus gruesome instructions. Seriously! Making him fight the other man until he couldn't even raise his Zanpakuto anymore and then having him run mile after mile as a warm-up! The man was a monster.

But back to the issue on hand. Ichigo had approached Ichimaru Gin. The other had been as cold and calculating as he expected. The only thing which had truly surprised him had been Gins straight out questions of his heritage.

He wasn't sure whether the other had believed his story or not but…that was a bridge to cross when the time came. He hoped he had at the very least managed to start a tentative relationship with him.

Seeing Gin this young had thrown him off at first – he looked like he was still going to his first year of Middle School and yet Ichigo knew that he had already made contact with Aizen and even now was planning the mans demise.

Ichigo shuddered.

It was…disconcerting to see that level of intellect and cunning in a mere child. Ichigo had to wonder what had made him that way. He knew of Gins friendship to Rangiku. He knew that Gin had done everything to protect her. He had given his everything to keep her safe. Ichigo could respect that. Yet he had to question if he had been able to do the same had he been in Gins place. Lying and betraying and deceiving those around him. Trusting no one and always trying to be one step ahead.

It had to be…so very lonely.

Ichigo had had many instances in his life where he had thought himself to be alone. When the other children in kindergarten, in school and even in his Kendo Class had made fun of him…when his mother had died. But he had never truly tasted loneliness as he had now.

The knowledge that everything he knew and loved didn't even exist yet and that some of the things which were supposed to happen already hadn't. His arrival changed the past and possibly the future.

A sudden flare in his chest made Ichigo look downwards. Something else to worry about. He hadn't yet managed to close off the…seal still resting on his body. The spirit…residing in it hadn't spoke to him all that much yet Ichigo could feel him sometimes.

'I am…here.' A whisper reached his ears.

"Ohh I see…uhm are you getting…stronger? Or how did Juushiro put it again…? 'More accustomed to my body'?" Ichigo asked, slightly concerned for his hitchhiker.

'Have you…tried entering your…inner world…since you have come into this…time?' The whisper asked, ignoring the question Ichigo had posed to him. He sounded like somebody was playing with the controls of the volume, his voice fading and growing stronger in different intervals.

"Uhh…no." Ichigo said.

'Try…'

Ichigo slowly sat up in his bed, his joints cracking in protest to his movement. He pulled his feet closer and grabbed the swords lying next to his bed. After a moment of contemplation, he placed them on his lap and closed his eyes slowly.

 _Drip drop_

There was the undercurrent of the sea in ears as Ichigo slowly opened his eyes again. His inner world had changed once more. From skyscrapers so tall they vanished into the open sky, to Karakura drowing under masses of water…to this.

Surrounding him was water – everywhere. But even with the absence of a sky there still seemed to be light flowing the entire area. Ichigo couldn't pin point where it came from, but it flooded the world around him. At the world was…beautiful.

He was standing in a garden, flowers waving in the sea current, there were trees all around him. And around that garden was a city. Filled with small houses right next to skyscrapers. He looked upwards towards the sky…or where to sky should have been but instead he found another city right over this one.

Staring as the strangeness of this world hit him Ichigo gently kicked off the ground and made his way towards the city in the sky. He looked to his right and saw that the world seemed to bend at one point. As if somebody had taken an entire city and folded it a couple of times. Depending on where he landed – down was up and up was down.

"…wow…" He whispered. He landed in another garden, similar to the last one he had been in and looked around.

His brows furrowed. He…had never had his Zanpakuto. The one introduced to him as 'Zangetsu' had been a representation of his Quincy powers and the one he had thought to be his Hollow had been his Shinigami powers. So then…now that he had regained them the second he lost them to Mugetsu…Where were his Zanpakuto spirits?

Did he even have them?

'I think…you could have them. If you wished to.' A voice told him. It sounded loud and clear in the space around him. Ichigo looked around quickly.

"Where are you? It's you, isn't it? Soul King?"

'Yes. It is me. If you so wish I can appear in a more solid form for you.'

"Please…talking to voices in my head has always made me feel more insane than I probably am…" Ichigo answered, pulling a face.

"Is this better?" A voice from his front asked.

Ichigo turned slowly. In front of his stood a man with flowing black hair, so long it almost reached the floor. It was held in a very low ponytail; some strands had been braided – and others hung loose framing his face. Instead of a Shinigami Uniform he was wearing an open Yukata which was white at the top and light blue at the bottom. His outfit was completed by a dark purple belt with a small sword hanging off it.

In his hands he held a long Japanese pipe with small clouds of white billowing out of it. But face…and his eyes were the most captivating things about his appearance. Ichigo couldn't tell whether he was young or old; there seemed to be no way of telling his age.

And his eyes, his eyes were a glowing purple.

Ichigo almost instinctually took a step back as those eyes bored into his – it seemed like they could see to the bottom of his soul.

"I-I didn't know you could do that." Ichigo finally stuttered out.

"Hmm yes…I don't do this all that often…" The man answered, now that he was no longer whispering Ichigo was surprised by how melodic his voice was.

"Is it easier for you to communicate with me when I enter my inner world?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes it is by far! After all we are so much closer to your…core you could say….We are closer to the place where the seal really is located."

"…What do you mean?"

"It is quite simple. The seal which appeared on your body is a simply reflection of the seal which has been put in here…into you, if you so will. I do not reside within the seal…but within you."

"I…I don't think I fully understand but this isn't what I actually meant to ask you anyway!"

The Soul Kind raised his eyebrow. "Do go ahead, what is it that you wish to know?"

"How can I hide the seal? The one appearing on my body? I know currently it is only Juushiro and me but if somebody else came along and saw-"

"Do not worry. It is indeed only you and the sick child which carry me at this moment. So do not worry." The Soul King waved him away.

Ichigo wasn't satisfied with the answer but he saw that the Soul King seemed to have to inclination of continuing the discussion.

They stood in silence for a few moments. The Soul King was looking around him, taking in the trees and plants and skyscrapers and houses. A small smile seemed to grace his face as he bend down and plucked a daisy of the ground, tucking it behind his ear.

"…Do you have…a name?" Ichigo asked then. Because it had never even occurred to him before that this being. This god which resided above them all could have something as mundane as a name…but he would have to have one…right?

"A name?" The entity asked. "I have had so many names Kurosaki Ichigo. What is it you wish to call me? I do not have any preferences, but I understand that most…people…take comfort in a name."

"…You sure you want me to pick one for you?" Ichigo asked, blinking at him a few times.

The Soul King shrugged with one shoulder seemingly not caring for Ichigos words one way or the other. Ichigo was starting to understand what Juushiro meant when he said that any form of interaction with the Soul King was taxing at the best – and annoying at the worst.

"Higanbana." Ichigo said after a short while.

The Soul King turned towards him once again. "A red spider lily?" He asked, tilting his head.

"I met you…when I said my final goodbye to the world I knew…So you are now Higanbana." Ichigo told him, crossing his arms. He had never been the best at giving names to anything. Once Yuzu had caught a caterpillar in a jar and had begged him to give it a name. In the end he had called him Mr. Kemushi. Yuzu had been half delighted and half devastated by her brothers lack of creativity.

"Hmm…I like this name…" Higanbana said slowly. "It seems fitting, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Just call me Ichigo. If we are truly stuck together for a while, its better to get familiar with one another."

"Hnn, I quite agree. To once again speak of the question you had before. The Zanpakuto you are currently wielding do have a spirit. None of the Zanpakutos forged by Nimaiya do not posses a spirit. You simply…haven't found yours yet."

"Well…thanks I guess. So all I have to do is find them and then I'll probably be fine…I wonder if I'm still able to use my Bankai."

"That I cannot answer, you shall have to ask your Zanpakuto Spirit if they will allow you to wield them as you have before." Higanbana said, twirling one of his long locks around his finger and puffing out smoke with his pipe.

"Can you tell me how you want me to stop Aizen?" Ichigo asked.

"I cannot I am afraid, for I'm not sure how to defeat him myself. I'm not as omnipotent as you might think I am. I can see the furture…sometimes. Sometimes I see the past and others the present. But I can not for sure tell you which path you need to take. But know this, Ichigo, you will not be alone. You have me. And you will have many others."

"Thank you…" Ichigo mumbled, it was the truth. No sugar coating or deflecting.

"I will never lie. I'm incapable of doing so. At the worst I won't answer your questions." Higanbana explained.

"Yo-you can read my thought while we are…inside my head?!"

"Yes. You have to remember that this form is nothing but a projection I'm choosing to wear. Nothing more and nothing less. I am still 'a voice in your head' as you put it before."

"Urgh…this is so strange…way to strange…maan…I'll leave for now. But I will be back." Ichigo promised, taking one last look at his changed surroundings before closing his eye once again.

Ichigo gently reached out for his Zanpakutos as he left his inner world. So they did have a spirit, he just hadn't met them yet. The thought alone made Ichigos heart jump in his chest. He had loved Zangetsu, had loved the ease of their slightly rocky relationship. But they had always belonged together. He missed it. The feeling of completeness he had had when he had been with Zangetsu – both the old man and his Hollow.

Ichigo slowly fell back into his bed and closed his eyes. The fatigue of the day pulling him under quickly.


End file.
